A Means of an End
by Spartan-IV
Summary: My take on what I think will happen in Half-Life 2 Episode 3. Gordon and Alyx continue onward to the Borealis, where they'll face the greatest challenge of their lives...
1. Welcomed Assistance

Gordon's vision turned to blackness, but even as he drifted unconscious he could hear Alyx crying over Eli's corpse…

Sometime later Gordon stirred himself back to life, he didn't have time to do anything more than open his eyes and groan before Alyx fell in to him. She began to hug him so hard he could have sworn his HEV suit had rattled off a warning. After twenty seconds Alyx pulled away with a look of embarrassment on her face. She looked off to the side as she said, "I'm sorry Gordon," her voice cracked as she continued, "It's just that dad's…gone and when I noticed you weren't moving I thought something had happened to you…." Alyx trailed off in her sentence as fresh tears started forming in her eyes.

Gordon was immensely saddened by his old friend's death but as he looked over at Alyx he knew that whatever he was feeling, Alyx was feeling 10x worse. Gordon gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Alyx seemed to have been waiting for the contact. As soon as Gordon's hand made contact with her shoulder, she dove back into the embrace she had so hastily departed; and let herself cry.

A few minutes passed by before Alyx retreated from Gordon, allowing him his first glance of his new surroundings. Judging by the constant whining of what sounded like rotor blades, it was clear to Gordon that Alyx had dragged him onto the helicopter. He found this strange before he remembered that although Eli's death had left them grief-stricken, the Combine weren't going to wait around while they came to terms with their feelings. They would have to continue with their mission, despite their feelings.

Gordon continued to glance around. He was lying in a small bed, most likely the only living quarters available on the helicopter. The room was only wide enough for six people to stand in and the room looked even smaller wit the amount of equipment hanging from the steel gray walls. Gordon's gaze finally rested on an IV needle that was linked to the emergency medical port of his HEV suit. Gordon grasped the small needle and pulled as quickly as he could. Gordon hissed in pain as the HEV suit informed him that the port had been re-sealed.

Getting up from the bed Gordon looked at Alyx and, when their eyes met, he gestured towards the cockpit with a perplexed look on his face. A silent question as to who was piloting the plane. Alyx pointed to herself and said, "I am, but it's on auto-pilot right now."

Gordon nodded as he continued to gaze at Alyx, she looked as if she had been crying for however long Gordon was out. Her eyes were red and her face was lined with tear trails. Gordon pointed towards the bed and moved towards the cockpit once Alyx nodded her head in affirmation to his silent order.

A few hours went by before Alyx woke up from her somewhat peaceful sleep. She seated herself at the pilot's chair, the fierce blizzard that was raging in the landscape below let Gordon and Alyx know that they were close to their destination.

In the distance they could see a collection of bright orange flares light up the snowy environment below. There was enough light that Alyx was able to see a small rebel outpost. Alyx was glad, since the helicopter was running dangerously low on fuel. Manoeuvring the craft expertly, Alyx placed the helicopter exactly where she intended it to be.

As soon as Alyx and Gordon stepped out of the helicopter, two rebels jogged up to meet them. Their normal rebel attire had been exchanged with white camouflaged clothing. Their helmets reminded Gordon of the one's worn by Civil Protection except for the fact that these were more stream-lined, with no circular ports over the wearer's mouth.

The rebels greeted Alyx and Gordon before gesturing for the two to follow them into the outpost. Gordon was impressed at the outpost's construction. It looked as if it was built completely out of cemented stone. The outpost was shaped like a U, with two bunkers giving way to a large blast door opening.

One of the sentries dug out a small key card that he swiped into the panel near the blast door. After entering a short five digit number into a keypad, the heavy blast doors slowly parted. The bunker beyond was brightly illuminated with fluorescent lighting giving Gordon a good view of the rebels inside who ran to various stations, either with equipment or weapons.

The sentries escorted Gordon and Alyx up to a rebel commander. The commander wore the same outfit as his subordinates except for the green paint on his shoulder patch that marked his rank. He looked up at the pair as he said, "Doctor Freeman himself, eh? We'll be providing you with an escort soon, I just need time to—"

The Commander was interrupted as the radio clipped to his belt started to buzz with static. A rebel's voice was barley audible as the speaker tried to be heard above the interference. "Commander, this is recon…….we're se-……multiple hostiles…….combine force….We're try-……falling back." There was a brief pause as the recon shouted to someone away from the radio, "Set off those charges, now!" Another burst of static ensued before the recon officer returned, "Be advised commander……….too many…..we'll be trying to…….Look out!-" The rest of the transmission ended with the man's screams followed by a burst of static.

The Commander held his radio in shock before he turned to another soldier, "Lieutenant, prepare for battle."

The lieutenant pressed a switch and alarm klaxons could be heard blaring inside the bunker. Followed by the officer's commanding voice as he barked into the COM, "Combat Teams, prepare to defend the base. Secure the blast doors and bring the defensive grid online."

The doors behind the commander opened with a metallic thud, revealing a small armoury inside. The commander grabbed an SMG and a belt full of grenades before he gestured to Alyx and Gordon, "If you two wouldn't mind, I could use your help."

Gordon and Alyx both nodded as they stepped inside. Gordon grabbed as much ammo for his shotgun and pulse rifle as he could carry, while Alyx just grabbed ammo for her modified pistol.

Meanwhile the commander was getting a sit-rep from his sentries in the bunkers. "Sentry group Alpha, status?"

"All clear out here, sir. But visibility is restricted"

"Roger that. Bravo?"

"Quieter than a tomb."

"Keep your eyes sharp," The commander replied before switching COM channels, "What's our turret status?"

"We're getting them online now sir." The engineering officer had just finished his sentence before turrets deployed from both the ceiling and floors surrounding the blast door.

"Sentry Alpha to command, we've got contacts!" the sentry had barley finished his sentence before pulse rifle fire could be heard pounding on the COM channel. "Christ!" The officer's voice shouted into the COM before he turned to his men and ordered, "Return fire!"

"Any Striders?" The Commander asked, pressing Bravo for details.

"Negative, sir. But we've got Overwatch troops escorting packs of hunters!" A Bravo sentry replied, shouting to be heard above the gun-fire, Combine radio chatter, and screams from hunters.

"Sentry group Alpha to command, we're being over-run here sir!"

"Roger that, Alpha. Set the charges and fall back to the tunnels."

"Yes, sir."

"Bravo, you'd better do the same."

"Already on it, sir."

Two minutes went by before explosions went off with such magnitude that they shook the foundation of the reinforced concrete outpost. Two teams of rebels poured up from an old vent opening. One of the rebels spoke as he pushed himself up, "Whew. Nothing is getting through that mess."

"Commander, external cameras show Combine troops right outside. The hunters are trying to ram the door down!"

As if to prove that the officer was correct, hunters could be heard screaming in their strange dialect as they attempted to force the steel door down. All at once, the fluorescent lighting in the base went out, leaving the occupants in darkness. A dim amount of illumination came back as the emergency backup generators activated. "Commander, the turrets are down! We need time to tie them into the backup generators; E.T for repairs is five minutes. But our guess is that the hunters will break through in three."

The commander stood with grim determination as he knew there was only one way they could still survive this. He took out a deep breath before he barked into the COM, "Open the blast door."

"Sir, we'll be sitting ducks!"

"We'll be dead anyway if we can't get the turrets fixed in time," The Commander turned to his fellow troops as he shouted, "Arm yourselves!"

Rebel soldiers loaded their weapons and took up defensive positions near the blast door. There wasn't much cover in the closely packed hallway but whatever was available they took advantage of. "Open the door!" The commander said as he spoke back into the COM.

The steel doors slowly parted, revealing the stormy blizzard raging outside. A loud cry pierced the sound of the storm as a pack of hunters emerged into the building. The commander raised his SMG at the nearest hunter and squeezed the trigger as he shouted, "Open fire!"


	2. Combine Advance

**Special thanks to Kiefer and Still Bullet. Its not very often I get reviews that quickly! I tried to take your advice on slowing down the speed, let me know if I did it right! Plus does anyone else think that manoeuvre is spelled wrong? Just wondering...**

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Bullets and pulse capsules impacted full force into the lead hunter's flesh. The combined rebel fire tore the first two hunters apart before they could do anything more than scream. "Perimeter fire, keep the pressure!" The commander ordered as he loaded another clip into his SMG.

Gordon stood in the centre of the hallway with Alyx at his side. The two were shooting any Combine force still moving, a stack of bodies started to form around them as hunters and Overwatch alike fell to the merciless onslaught. Despite their heroic efforts, there were simply too many Combine forces pushing through for the resistance to stand their ground. It was clear they had to fall back, but it looked to Gordon that there wasn't anywhere to go.

"Retreat behind the secondary bunker! Cover each other's backs!" The commander ordered from the end of the hallway.

Despite the order of caution, several rebels panicked and, in their haste to find safety, they let themselves fall prey to Hunters. One rebel was rammed down when a Hunter lunged for its target. Its long green legs carried it far into the hallway, as its sharp appendages sliced through the rebel's spine. Another rebel was rammed into the wall as an enraged Hunter charged with all the speed its tripedal body could summon.

Overwatch troops continued advancing into the bunker, they cautiously moved inside as they brought their pulse rifles in front of them. As soon as they noticed the retreating rebels they opened fire without hesitation. Several of the troops fired energy balls at their enemies, the ones that found targets left no trace behind as they vaporized any flesh they came in contact with.

Gordon stood by the entrance to the secondary bunker, blasting away Hunters and Combine as he waited for rebel stragglers to run inside. Shotgun blasts proved to be an effective weapon to charging Hunters, who fell a short distance away from Gordon's towering form. Gordon waited for the last rebel to run inside as he quickly shot overzealous Overwatch troops.

Gordon switched his aim to an advancing hunter and squeezed the trigger, he was surprised to find that his shotgun was empty. Tearing shells off of his belt, Gordon quickly tried to feed shells into his gun while the hunter continued its charge toward him. Gordon placed three shells in, knowing that they would have to suffice and knowing that he would have to get closer to inflict maximum damage, Gordon charged his target.

The hunter flinched in surprise, clearly not expecting the manoeuvre. Gordon used the creature's surprise to his advantage as he blasted the Hunter's eyes at point-blank range. The three shotgun blasts left the Hunter profusely wounded, but alive enough to risk revenge on Gordon. Rolling under the Hunter Gordon briefly wondered if his hardened HEV suit could protect him from the Hunter's sharp appendages. Unwilling to find out, Gordon grabbed the pulse rifle slung to his back as he rolled away from the Hunter. The Hunter fired off two of its explosive flachettes before Gordon unloaded pulse capsules into the beast.

Gordon stood in the centre of the hallway when a brilliant idea came to him. Ignoring Alyx's shouts of protest for him to run inside the bunker, he shouldered his AR2 and let loose a combine energy ball at the advancing enemy. In the closely packed hallway, the energy ball inflicted maximum damage as it ricocheted into several Hunters and a few squads of Overwatch before it finally imploded from instability.

In that time Gordon had ran into the bunker with the other rebels, a triumphant grin etched on his face as rebel soldiers shouted their approval. The heavy steel door sealed as soon as Gordon stepped inside, Alyx looked at Gordon with amazement as she said, "That was amazing, Gordon!"

Gordon smiled at Alyx before he brought his gaze to look around the new bunker. The secondary bunker was illuminated by red backup lights. Through the small amount of illumination the lights offered, Gordon was able to see that the backup bunker featured a wide hallway leading away from the entrance. A few captured combine floor turrets were positioned at the far end of the bunker, making it an ideal position for a last stand. Squinting through the darkness Gordon was able to see the rebel commander talking to engineers. As Gordon moved closer to the commander, with Alyx following, he could hear their conversation.

"…what's the status of the auto turrets?"

"Sir, we can't get them online."

"What! Why not?!"

"One of the backup generators has been fried and the one generator we have left can barley supply power to the lights and floor turrets, let alone the auto gird."

"Can't you fix it from here?" The commander asked, a grim edge seeping into his voice with the knowledge that he was running out of options.

"I'm afraid not, sir. We'd need to have someone physically reach the generator and fix it. Not an easy task with an entire Combine taskforce out there."

"What do you think, Gordon? Can you do it?" Alyx asked from behind the commander. The commander turned around to look at Gordon, to see that he had already placed his shotgun around his shoulder with an affirmative nod.

The commander couldn't help but smile at Freeman's heroics. He may just be one man but, as the commander gazed at his confident and determined expression, he knew that Gordon was the right man for the job.

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**It seems to me that something like this would happen. Who else but Gordon Freeman can save the rebels from eradication by the Combine?**


	3. Solo Operation

**Thanks again to Kiefer and Still Bullet for the reviews and thanks for adding my story to your community page Kiefer, much obliged. Anyway, here's the next chapter.**

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The bunker's engineer moved to a small vent, he punched in a small number at a nearby console to allow access inside. The engineer turned to Gordon as he said, "This is the only other way out. Follow this vent to the end and you'll be fairly close to the backup generators. Keep an eye out though, Overwatch troops have likely secured the area."

Gordon nodded to show that he understood, he moved to crawl into the air-duct but was stopped when Alyx tapped his shoulder. Gordon spun around to face Alyx as she looked up in his eyes and said, "Be careful Gordon."

Gordon thought he detected a hint of pleading in her tone. He tried to put her mind at ease by squeezing her shoulder, a gesture to let her know he was coming back. Alyx gave a small smile to Gordon before he turned and crawled into the vent.

As Gordon crawled through the vent he could hear Combine radio chatter below, their comlinks crackled as the soldiers said, _"Base is not secure, targets have fled. We're preparing to engage."_ Gordon didn't bother listening to the rest, he knew that time was running out. The steel bunker door was tough, but it would only be a matter of time before the Hunters rammed it down.

Continuing on his agonizing crawl, Gordon flicked on his flashlight. The beam of light let Gordon know that he was fairly close to the end. After five minutes of crawling Gordon had reached the end of the vent. Looking through the small grating, Gordon could see two Overwatch troops stationed by the generators. The white uniforms of the Overwatch were clearly visible in the semi-darkness of the bunker. As Gordon continued looking below, he could see that the generators were tucked away in a small section of the primary bunker. Whoever had designed the bunker had placed the generators near the main blast doors, a poor design flaw that had been close to spelling disaster for the rebels.

Turning his gaze away from the generators and back toward the two guards, Gordon ran through several possibilities in his mind. Eventually, he decided on using stealth to take them out. Any direct approach would likely bring the entire Combine taskforce down on Gordon, something he couldn't risk.

Gordon slowly holstered his shotgun, before pulling out his crowbar. Memories of his escape from Black Mesa pushed their way to his conscious mind as he stared down at the weapon. With a grunt, Gordon pushed the memories away. He couldn't afford to be distracted.

Gordon used the crowbar to slowly push the vent grating away from the duct, he moved the crowbar slowly and deliberately. After a silent minute, Gordon had removed the vent grating and had placed it behind him. Taking one last look below, Gordon reminded himself that he would drop only a few metres behind the Overwatch guards so he would have to act fast.

Gordon took another deep breath before he swung his body out of the air duct. His feet landed with a small thud that immediately attracted the attention of the Overwatch guards. They shifted their bodies to look inside the room. The guards comlink crackled to life, but before he could ask anything Gordon struck the guard with a savage blow to the head from his crowbar. The other Overwatch guard spoke with a panicked voice into his comlink, _"Guard is down! At sector—"_

Before the guard could finish identifying his location, Gordon had brought his crowbar across the guard's torso, eliciting a grunt of pain from the troop. Before the guard could react, Gordon ended the troop's life by jabbing his crowbar into the target's white helmet with as much strength as he could summon. The soldier fell to the deck with a thud, his helmet cracked enough to expose the once-human face underneath.

Turning away from the guards, Gordon looked at the backup generator. He could see that the Combine had cut the wire to the plug that would normally feed power to the auto-grid. Gordon removed the plug as he scanned the wall for a solution. He thought to himself, _there has to be a way. There is always a way!_

Then Gordon saw what he'd been looking for, there was a backup outlet mounted on the wall. To Gordon's relief, the wires leading away from it were still intact. Moving quickly, Gordon connected the other end of the plug to the newly discovered outlet. Almost instantly, the lights on the auto-turrets turned green before they tracked Combine targets and opened fire with 7.62 mm ammunition.

Gordon smiled at his success; he started to walk back to the secondary bunker when a low growl stopped him in his tracks. Gordon squinted through the small doorway to see an enraged hunter lock its menacing eyes on Gordon, issuing a challenge. Gordon quickly tried to unsling his shotgun from his shoulder. But the Hunter was faster, it charged Gordon at full speed, knocking him into the generator with enough force to dent the back plate of his HEV suit.

As Gordon blinked to clear his blurry vision he could feel himself falling into darkness. As the blackness engulfed Gordon, the last thing he heard was his HEV suit's computer listing the damage done to his body.

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**I know, I know. Stealth isn't what Gordon does, which is why I purposely made it...not a total success. I bet that cliff-hanger is driving you crazy! Is gordon dead, unconscious, or just sleeping. You'll have to see. I may even have the next chapter up today, you never know. In case you're wondering how I can possibly update so fast it's because I haven't been in school the past week. Since I've got this illness where I sleep for 18 hours a day and my body temp. drops 1.5 degrees below the norm. Basically I have no homework right now, but that'll change when I go back to school on Monday...not looking forward to that at all. **


	4. Rebel Defensive

**I told you I could have the next chapter up today, and here it is! I'm almost tired of saying this but thanks to Still Bullet for the review, they make me want to write more! And C'mon guys I can't believe that Kiefer and Still Bullet are the only ones who write reviews around here. Not that their reviews aren't good but it would be nice to hear other people's thoughts, comments, suggestions. **

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Alyx watched Gordon crawl into the vent with a sigh. She had hoped beyond words that Gordon was coming back, she felt that he was all she had left. With a great deal of effort Alyx pushed her depressing thoughts aside. She had to stay focused if any of them were going to get through this alive.

Engineers moved the floor turrets close enough to the blast door where they could inflict heavy damage, but back far enough where they couldn't be easily damaged. On the commander's orders, rebel soldiers layed in a prone position near the door. Such a formation would prevent a friendly-fire incident from the turrets, an important pre-caution to take in the kind of battle the rebels would be facing.

Alyx took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself but with the Hunters bashing against the steel door, it wasn't easy.

Soon the bunker door had several dents in it and the stress against the metal was increasing with every bash. _C'mon Gordon where are you?_ Alyx thought to herself as her nervousness started to grow.

The rebel on point near the door noticed that the hinges were about to give way. Turning to his comrades he shouted, "Here they come!"

The sounds of loading clips, clacking bolts, and shuffled feet let the man on point know that his comrades were getting ready.

"Get the turrets primed!" The commander ordered the engineer as he loaded a clip into his sub-machine gun.

No sooner had the floor turrets been activated then the bunker door gave way with a loud metallic thud, kicking dust into the air. Two hunters were the first to enter the room, they wailed in their strange dialect before they fired off a volley of flachettes. By the time the dust had settled three rebel corpses could be seen, flachettes sticking out of their necks.

"Open fire!" The commander shouted both in anger at the casualties, and desperation at their seemingly hopeless situation.

The rebels didn't have to be told twice, bullets and pulse capsules met the enemy head-on. The turrets had already opened fire, their 7.62 mm rounds cut deeply into the Hunters.

Overwatch troops started to advance inside as well. They stormed the bunker in pairs, one soldier kneeling while another stood over his companion's head. Hunters were efficient killing machines, but they weren't very effective in a battle such as this. While Hunters shot anything that moved, Overwatch troops analyzed the situation before engaging the enemy. It didn't take the Combine elite long to know that the turrets protected the rebels from being stormed by Hunters.

A Combine squad leader motioned to his squad, bringing his thicked gloved hand up to point at the turrets. His soldiers gave an affirmative nod before switching targets and letting loose with small Pulse Rifle bursts.

Despite the fact that the sound of firing weapons was near deafening, and that gunpowder smoke was so thick in the air it was almost blinding, the rebel commander easily spotted the silent conversation between the Overwatch troops. Shouting in a voice that echoed as far as thunder the commander said, "Rebels! Concentrate your fire on the Overwatch troops!"

The resistance fighters showed their compliance by letting loose a stream of machine gun fire into the Combine's midst. Overwatch troops quickly staggered under the unexpected attack, their unit cohesion began to fail as they started firing in more of a panic than a controlled sense.

The Combine troops noticed this too and they quickly retreated outside the bunker, thinking of a new approach.

Two rebels used this break to have a short conversation. "Hey Joe!" One of the rebels shouted toward the front.

"What?"

"How many kills have you got today, psycho?"

"More than you, wise-guy." Joe responded in a gruff voice.

"Cut the chatter you two." The commander said in an exasperated tone, rather than an authoritative one. Turning to the engineer the commander asked, "What's the status on the turrets?"

"They're running low on ammunition. They've only got a few hundred rounds left."

As if the Overwatch troops could hear this, they advanced back into the doorway. Rather than fire off pulse capsules, however, the troops squeezed off a barrage of energy balls.

The resistance fighters decided to take cover, letting the turrets finish off the Combine. The Combine Elite clearly hadn't expected the tactic and they were riddled with bullets before they fire another salvo.

Alyx braced herself for another wave of Combine, but all she could hear was radio chatter on the other side.

"_We have reports of a guard down."_ One of the troops said, _"Location unknown."_

"_Dispatch a Hunter to reinforce the guard at the generators."_

The last guard's statement reminded Alyx that Gordon was at the generators. No sooner had that thought struck her then a loud whoop could be heard from the engineer. "Ah yeah, the auto-grid is online."

Overwatch and Hunter screams could be heard outside as the bunker's defensive grid came online. The bunkers turrets continued their high rate of fire, showering the enemy with bullets.

After the turrets had stopped firing, the commander deemed it safe enough to send out small fire-teams. "Fan out and search the base. Four soldiers to a squad and don't forget to grab Pulse Rifles, there could be Hunters lurking around."

After the rebels moved out, Alyx decided to take the commander's advice as she grabbed a pulse rifle from a dead Overwatch soldier. Alyx made sure the rifle was fully loaded before she sprinted off to the generator room.

Alyx skidded to a stop outside the generator room, her mind frozen with fear and anger at the scene before her. Gordon's unmoving form was lying next to the generator, a Hunter stood above him. Its sharp appendages were quivering with anticipation as it prepared to strike at its defenceless prey.

Alyx acted almost on instinct as she shouldered her captured Pulse Rifle and fired off an energy ball. The sound of the discharge alerted the Hunter and it tried to evade the energy. But at the speeds the energy ball was traveling, the Hunter never had a chance. The energy ball hit the hunter in the centre of its body, leaving the Hunter's body to vaporize. Alyx almost dropped her gun as she rushed to Gordon's side. Alyx tried to feel for Gordon's pulse, but her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn't tell if he was alive or not.

Acting in desperation, Alyx ran back to where the commander had been before she left. Walking into the bunker she grabbed the commander's hand and sprinted to Gordon. The commander was extremely confused but he sensed that this was important so he followed without complaint. As soon as the commander saw Gordon's un-moving form he immediately helped Alyx carry Gordon back to the bunker.

As soon as the commander came into the bunker he shouted, "We need a medic over here now!"

After stabilizing a badly wounded patient, a medic ran over to Gordon's unmoving form. After a quick diagnosis the medic took out a small needle, but stopped when he realized that he had no idea where to inject it. Alyx quickly opened Gordon's emergency medical port. The medic thanked her before injecting the syringe's contents into Gordon's body.

Alyx couldn't take the suspense anymore so she finally blurted out, "Is Gordon gonna be alright?"

"I'm not quite sure." The medic slowly replied, "He has some serious wounds on his back and chest, if he didn't have that suit I wouldn't hesitate to say no. But with the suit…well, it's possible."

Alyx nodded as the commander and the medic left to tend to others. Alyx took Gordon's hand and whispered, "Please come back Gordon, you're all I have."

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**Almost the same ending as last time! So what did you think! Write a review for me, c'mon! I don't care if you log off and do something else for three hours as long as you come back and WRITE A REVIEW!!**


	5. Into the Abyss

**A little shorter than I would prefer but I still think its good. Thanks for the reviews, I appreciate the compliments! Quick question though, does anyone think I shoud give rebel officers names? I don't about you guys but I was getting pretty tired of writing "the commander" all the time.**

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Beads of sweat trailed down Gordon's face, his hazard suit was straining to keep his vital signs stable. From Alyx's perspective Gordon was as unmoving as a log, but the truth of the matter was that Gordon was reliving unpleasant memories in a chaotic pattern.

_Gordon stared, transfixed, at the blue-suited man in front of him. He spoke to Gordon about offering him a job, one which Gordon had "limitless potential" for. In the interest of doing good for humanity, Gordon accepted the offer. Of course he never really had a choice anyway._

_The scene before Gordon changed. He was back in the test chamber at Black Mesa. The Resonance Cascade was in progress. Beams of yellow energy collided with the observation room above Gordon's head, he closed his eyes as he heard his colleges scream in terror._

_Memories from City 17 flashed before Gordon's mind, the memories flew by at a dizzying rate. Strangely enough, Gordon could remember the G-man's voice. It was a memory of his speech to Gordon after waking him up from stasis. "The right man in the wrong p-place……can make all the diff...erence, in the world." The G-man's last word echoed in Gordon's mind as he relived the day when a Hunter attacked Alyx._

The last memory was traumatic enough to bring Gordon conscious. He awoke with a jolt, his eyes flew open and he bolted upright. Gordon's hand rested on his holstered pistol, part of him still felt that he was reliving another memory. His mind was put at ease, however, as soon as Alyx came inside the bunker. She stared at Gordon, amazed that he was okay.

Gordon barley had time to move his hand away from his pistol before Alyx brought her entire body weight crashing into him. She wrapped him in an embrace so tight that Gordon could feel the plates of his HEV suit rubbing up against his skin. As soon as Gordon felt parts of his suit come in contact with the bruises on his back he hissed in pain. Thankfully Alyx heard his reaction and she pulled away, a bashful smile on her face as she apologized to Gordon.

Gordon thought he saw Alyx wipe away a few tears as she said, "I'm glad you're okay."

Gordon nodded his head, but the truth was that he was far from okay. Memories that he had taken great pains to suppress had been brought back into his awareness. Alyx looked at Gordon with a smile, "I should've known you'd make it through okay. The suit's been through worse after all." Alyx said, a coy smile etched across her face.

Gordon looked up at her in mild surprise. That was the first joke she'd made since her father's death. Despite the pain coursing through his body, the sight of Alyx smiling brought one to his own face.

The rebel commander entered the room a few seconds later. His grim expression turned into a small grin when he saw that Freeman was alive. "Good to see you up, Doctor Freeman. Fire teams have searched through the entire bunker, and it looks the Combine have already fled."

"You mentioned that you could give us an escort?" Alyx asked as she turned to face the commander.

"Yes, follow me." The commander said as he moved out of the doorway. Alyx came next, followed by Gordon. The commander stopped by a small metal hatch at the far end of the bunker. He pressed a button at a nearby console before the hatch would open.

Peering inside Gordon could see bright floodlights snapping on, revealing a ladder that extended down into a large tunnel. "We built this after we discovered this bunker." The commander said, "It was designed as a supply line to our next outpost. Follow this tunnel to the end and the group on the other side will get you what you need. Be careful though the last group we sent down there never made it to the other side. I'd send a squad with you but after that last attack…" The commander trailed off as he remembered how many soldiers he'd lost, "Well I barley have enough soldiers to defend this area. If it wasn't equipped with turrets, we'd have already evacuated."

Alyx and Gordon nodded their thanks before scaling the ladder into the widely spaced tunnel below.

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**"The suit's been through worse after all." I stood at my screen forever thinking to myself what would Alyx say! I'm not quite sure if that line was good or not...ah well you guys be the judge.**


	6. A Familair Feeling

**IMPORTANT! Due to WildWindyWolf's review I've started a poll at my profile, the question is whether or not you guys want me to extend every chapter to 2,000 words, rather than 1,000 words per chapter. Bear in mind that if you vote yes, updates will not come as often. Whatever the result of the vote is, I will honour it.**

**Review Response:**

**Still Bullet: I know that Alyx hasn't been as, shall we say, "emotionally open" around Gordon these past two episodes. It seems to me that Alyx mainly used her father and, maybe DOg too, as an "emotional outlet." So with the death of her father, I figured that she would be more open around Gordon in episode 3. Just what I think of course, I'll have to wait to see if Valve has the same opinion. Well, anyway your review inspired me to give Alyx a shot at the spotlight in this chapter. Since I realized that I haven't been describing Alyx's fighting as much as Gordon's, and that was mainly because we all know Alyx kicks ass.**

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Gordon looked around the tunnel as soon as he jumped down from the ladder. The tight beam of light emitting from his suit's flashlight allowed Gordon to scan the tunnel. He could see that the area was wide enough for two Combine APCs to drive through. The tunnel was structured as a large hemisphere, wtih support beams spaced every hundred metres. The tunnel's inner shell had been reinforced with wooden planks, the layout of the boards suggested that a cave-in had occurred during construction. Bright flood lights were spaced close enough to allow long range visibility, but they were far enough apart that a few spots of the tunnel were shrouded in darkness.

Gordon had an eerie feeling wash over him as he and Alyx proceeded to walk down the tunnel, something….just felt wrong.

As Gordon and Alyx walked further down the tunnel, Gordon's feeling continued to magnify. Alyx, on the other hand, seemed perfectly fine; after turning around a corner, however, that all changed. The bright beams of white light allowed Gordon to see the corpses of resistance fighters strewn along the floor. Gordon and Alyx gripped their weapons as they cautiously advanced forward. Moving closer allowed the pair to see that the cause of death seemed to have been massive blood loss. Examining the corpses more closely, Gordon was able to see that deep slashes were inflicted across a large portion of their bodies.

Gordon barley heard Alyx whisper, "Oh my god." His full attention was directed outward, he brought his flashlight to scan the darkened sections of the tunnel. But aside from the presence of blood spatters, there was nothing on the walls. Gordon was about to holster his gun when he heard a soft thud echo from further ahead. Cocking his shotgun, Gordon brought the weapon up to his shoulder, his senses hyper-aware.

"Gordon? What's going—," Alyx halted mid-sentence when Gordon brought a finger to his lips. Her confused expression turned to one of understanding when Gordon tapped his ear, a signal to listen.

Alyx pulled out her pistol as she strained her ears to register any strange noises. After a minute of silence, Alyx was about to holster her gun when she heard a series of soft thuds coming from the dark sections of the tunnel. The fact that Gordon was sweeping his flashlight in the direction of the noise's origin let Alyx know that he had heard the sound as well.

A black-shadow seemed to materialize out of the darkness. The figure moved at speeds so fast that Alyx barley had time to track it's movements, let alone have any time to react. The tip of a silver blade shined in the darkness. Alyx barley avoided the blade by sheer luck, twisting her body away from the weapon's guided path.

Gordon fired off a blast to where the figure had been running to, but despite Gordon's speed the rounds only found the wall of the tunnel as their target. Gordon and Alyx retreated next to a collection of floodlights, waiting for a follow-up attack. A response did come, but it wasn't what the two were expecting.

Instead of engaging its prey in another melee fight, the figure pulled off the rifle that was magnetized to its armour. The rifle fired enlarged pulse capsules, the same type of rounds fired by Combine auto-turrets. The infiltrator quickly sighted its targets through the scope, a process that activated a thinly lined green laser. The figure brought the near invisible laser sight up to its targets chest. As soon as the shot was confirmed, the figure pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Alyx was surprised to see a green dot on Gordon's chest, her instincts told her what the laser was for, a sighting. Alyx yelled at Gordon to hit the deck, something he did without thinking twice. Gordon's body had just started dropping when a soft boom could be heard from the darkness. The sound was followed by a large crack as the bullet impacted into the stone behind Gordon.

Alyx quickly snapped off a burst from her modified pistol directly into where she thought the target had been. Alyx was rewarded with a low groan, a sound that signified a hit. Though it was clear the target was still alive as soon as a second bullet roared past Alyx's ear.

Alyx caught Gordon's eye and motioned for him to go right while she herself would go left. Gordon looked like he was going to argue the point, but another narrow miss by a rifle bullet made him forget his arguments and nod in agreement.

Gordon waited for Alyx's signal before sprinting toward their mysterious target. Slinging his shotgun around his shoulder, Gordon pulled out his crowbar. He kept running towards the figure's last known position, he was about to skid to a halt when a foot struck out cobra-quick to come in contact with Gordon's face. The unexpected blow caused Gordon to fall onto his back. His hands dropped the crowbar he'd been holding, leaving the weapons to skid some five metres away.

As Gordon hissed in pain from both old and new injuries he looked up to see a black armoured figure hovering above him. Despite his blurry vision Gordon was able to clearly see the identity of their mysterious assailant. He wasn't the least bit surprised to see that it was affiliated with the Combine. A fact evidenced by the assassin's black armour, the helmet was the biggest clue. Gordon never pictured the colour green as being malevolent, but after seeing the unforgiving dark green orb stare at him from behind the black coloured helmet, his perceptions changed. The helmet itself was similar to what the Combine Elite wore, except that the circular sphere by the wearer's mouth was smaller in shape. What did shock Gordon about this Combine soldier was the fact that the assassin was female. Throughout his time engaging Combine forces, Gordon never saw any females soldiers. Though as Gordon thought back to the figure's agility and grace, he really shouldn't have been surprised.

The female assassin raised her silver sword, the tip of which glowed with crackling energy. In a desperate attempt to save himself, Gordon reached for his holstered pistol. But the assassin quickly stomped on his hand, cutting Gordon's escape attempt short. Gordon's eyes widened as the assassin started to bring her sword down.

A few seconds before the blade could slice through Gordon's suit, Alyx ran in from the assassin's exposed flank. In a quick strike she brought Gordon's fallen crowbar bashing against the back of the assailant's head. Moving just as quickly Alyx brought her pistol up to shoot the fallen assassin before she could attack again.

After shooting the assassin with more bullets than was completely necessary, Alyx helped Gordon up off the ground. Alyx smiled at Gordon as she handed him back his crowbar. Looking at Gordon Alyx said, "Ya know Gordon I thought teamwork would be good, but I guess a distraction was better."

Gordon merely furrowed his eyebrows at her, a gesture that managed to show her that he was both amused and annoyed at her statement. Alyx only laughed as the two made their way up a ladder, they had reached the other side of the tunnel.

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**I bet some of you were expecting a zombie attack, I knew I would have been in your position, so I added the female Combine assassin that Valve had cut from Half-Life 2! In case you care, I did that mainly because I find that all of the Combine infantry really do seem like they were all once human males. So I figured it was about time we saw a Combine chick enter the mix. The assassin reminds me of a Sam Fisher like character, only difference being gender. Only thing left for you to do now is..review. I thought this chapter was pretty damn sweet. But since I'm about as bias as I can possibly be I want to know what you guys think!**


	7. Fierce Engagement

**Here we go guys. Sorry about the wait but I've been diagnosed with pneumonia, so I'm really not feeling that great right now. The few hours that I'm not sleeping are usually spent trying to catch up on school work. But anyway you guys don't need to hear about that, enjoy this chapter. It took me a little while to find out what I was gonna do with it.**

**Oh and since one person voted yes for my poll I figured that that one person speaks for all of you... :) Anyway I will be attempting extend the chapter length to 2,000 words. This chapter fell short by 300 words, but that's mainly because I've had the idea in my head so long that I felt compelled to finish it. **

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Popping the hatch at the top of the ladder, Alyx and Gordon climbed up to the snowy environment above. Gordon squinted his eyes, the sun reflecting off of the snow was a sharp contrast from the light in tunnel. He looked around for rebel sentries to indicate the close proximity of the other outpost that the bunker commander had mentioned. But, instead, his eyes fell upon the burning metal frame of a small building. Thick black smoke rose into the sky as the wooden framework of the building continued to burn.

Alyx's eyes widened as she stared at the destruction next to Gordon. A quick glance around let her know that the Combine were still around. Overwatch could be seen in the distance, a small squad was clustered around a strange vehicle that was of definite non-Combine origin.

Though the area was an open environment, save for the burning building, Gordon and Alyx were still able to move closer to the Combine without raising suspicion.

Alyx drew out her pistol, while Gordon primed his pulse rifle. Alyx caught Gordon's eye and motioned for him to draw their fire.

Gordon nodded as he silently walked along the wall of the burning building. As he crept closer to his targets, Gordon could hear Overwatch radio chatter.

"_Unit 6, report on your findings." _

"_Fire teams have confirmed that all enemy soldiers are down."_

"_Prepare to move out."_

Not wanting to hear anymore Gordon ran out in side-step fashion. Discharging pulse capsules tore into two of the Overwatch troops before the rest of the squad even knew what was happening. Gordon threw a primed grenade into their midst before crouching next to a Combine APC.

Panicked Combine radio chatter could be heard behind him. A small explosion and a short scream let Gordon know that at least one troop hadn't taken cover in time.

Slamming a fresh clip into his AR2, Gordon crouched behind the front tire of the APC. A quick glance into the small building confirmed that six Overwatch troops were still alive. Returning fire from the advancing elite also signified that their unit cohesion was starting to re-form.

Gordon side-stepped away from the APC as he snapped his rifle up and fired a burst of rounds at the nearest soldier. Returning fire forced Gordon to retreat behind the limited cover available to him. _C'mon Alyx, where are you?_ Gordon thought to himself as more pulse capsules impacted against the hardened plates of the APC.

Alyx crept inside the small building, she could see Overwatch troops firing at what she could only assume to be Gordon. Alyx aimed at the Overwatch troop about to fire at Gordon's exposed form. As the bullets found their mark, Alyx shifted her aim to another Combine soldier. In the time it took for the first dead Overwatch troop to hit the ground, Alyx had silenced three more of the elite.

The soldiers quickly marked Alyx as a priority target and they turned to fire off pulse capsules in her direction. The barrage forced Alyx to head for cover behind one of the few remaining support columns in the small building.

Noticing that the Combine had stopped firing at him, Gordon sprinted away from the APC. Unholstering his magnum, Gordon dropped the last pair of enemy troops with a couple of well-placed head-shots.

Alyx walked away from her cover and towards Gordon. "Thanks, Gordon."

Gordon merely nodded as the pair shifted their case to the vehicle that the Combine had been standing around. It was clearly a white snowmobile of sorts, a metal frame had been constructed around the driver's seat, and cement panels had been welded to the back and sides.

Despite the fact that the vehicle was constructed from various spare parts, it was obvious that the vehicle used a powerful engine. And with the smoothly polished footholds on the bottom, it was clear that the snowmobile was built just for this type of environment.

Gordon climbed up in the driver's seat and took a moment to familiarize himself with the controls as Alyx took a seat behind him. After a minute of deciphering the controls, Gordon pushed the throttle to full and steered the racing snowmobile toward their destination.

From the top of what had once been a rebel outpost stood a Combine assassin. Her helmet protected her from breathing in the smoke, while the blackness was a perfect camouflage for her black suit. Using the zoom feature on her heads up display, the assassin observed her two targets as they boarded a vehicle.

As the vehicle sped away the assassin activated her radio. _"TK-6 to Base Four."_

"_Go ahead."_

"_Targets have been spotted; outbound direction is 36 mark 2."_

"_Dispatch is on its way,"_ the modulated voice responded before cutting the channel.

TK-6 leaped from the roof to the ground below. As soon as her feet hit the snow, her suit's external sensors changed the suit's colour to white, in an attempt to match her surroundings. TK-6 sprinted off toward Base Five, she needed to collect some supplies.

Barley a few minutes went by before Alyx and Gordon could hear the distinctive roar of a Combine helicopter. Alyx glanced back to see that two of the helicopters were hot on their trail. The sound of a turbine starting up once the helicopters had closed their distance let both Gordon and Alyx know that the pilots were priming their forward turrets.

Gordon made a hard left as a hail of pulse fire fired on their vehicle. The cement panels proved effective at stopping rounds from damaging the vehicle's occupants. Gordon switched to a zig-zag pattern as more pulse fire erupted behind them.

One of the helicopters took this opportunity to get ahead of the snowmobile; snow was kicked into the air once the helicopter dropped in altitude. Mines were dropped not too long after.

Alyx nudged Gordon in the shoulder as she shouted, "Give me an angle Gordon!"

Gordon responded by swinging the vehicle to the left, giving Alyx a chance to fire through the only side of the snowmobile that didn't have a panel welded to the side. 9mm rounds flew into the air as Alyx fired from her pistol. A lucky shot impacted into a mine just as it was dropped from the lead helicopter.

The force of the explosion blasted the chopper on a new course. The vehicle spun around in the air as the pilot fought to maintain control. Despite the pilot's best efforts, the chopper careened out of control and into a small hill with a thunderous crack.

Gordon didn't bother to watch the fire-works. The remaining pilot was smart enough to realize that using mines would be counter-productive, so he settled for harassing them with turret fire.

Gordon started scanning their surrondings, looking for a place where they could bring down the Combine craft. A run-down outpost in the distance looked like a good place, Gordon swivelled the vehicle to speed towards that direction.

Gordon kept the snowmobile on full throttle, but as soon as they were close to the entrance he slammed on the brakes. It was clear the pilot didn't expect this tactic, judging by the fact that the chopper continued to accelerate away from the building. Gordon and Alyx quickly dismounted their vehicles before running at a full sprint toward the building. The pair had just ran inside before the pilot unleashed turret fire at the wooden building. The large rounds cracked the roof boards, sending wooden splinters into the air.

Gordon noticed a crate of RPG ammo scattered amongst various supplies, clearly the previous rebels had evacuated in a hurry. Gordon grabbed a few of the red-painted rockets before heading up towards the roof.

A small balcony offered the perfect vantage point for Gordon as he searched the skies for the Combine chopper. As soon as the helicopter flew towards Gordon he fired off a rocket from his RPG. He was rewarded with a small boom as the rocket found its target. His self-congratulation was cut short, however, when turret fire bombarded his position.

Gordon hit the deck to avoid the lightning fast pulse fire. As soon as the turret stopped firing, Gordon quickly kneeled on the ground and fired off another rocket. This time the pilot was able to shoot the rocket down before it could inflict any damage. Gordon heard the start-up whine of the forward turret and knew that he had one-last shot.

He loaded his last rocket, took aim using the laser sighting, and fired off the explosive. The rocket impacted on the underbelly of the helicopter. The explosive must've detonated a mine, since the helicopter was blasted towards the very building that Gordon and Alyx were holed up inside.

Alyx noticed too and she yelled for Gordon to run before taking her own advice and sprinting out of the building. Alyx waited nervously for Gordon to run out, but all she could see was the helicopter crashing into the building. The concussive force of the crash caused the entire building to collapse in a pile of dust and smoke. "Oh my god! Gordon!" Alyx called desperately, but there was no response.

She was about to run back inside and look for him when she saw a black figure through the smoke and dust. Gordon calmly walked towards her, RPG slung across his shoulders. Alyx could barley contain her excitement as she said, "Whoa! That was…I mean…wow, you're a real bad-ass Gordon!"

Gordon only gave her a fierce grin in acknowledgment of her praise.

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**Hope you guys liked this. It was fun to write, despite the fact that it took a while. Review and let me know how I did, I'd appreciate the criticism, thoughts, suggestions, whatever you have to say.**


	8. Combine Blockade

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IMPORTANT NOTE: This chapter ended up working to be too short for my liking, but I've got to figure out what I'm going to do for the rest of my story. Especially since I haven't played Portal, so I don't really have a clue as to what Aperture Science is really all about. Of course, this means that I won't be able to include GLaDOS in my fic, just because I don't understand the A.I at all. Frankly I'll also be assuming that they're aren't any zombies in Episode 3. I was planning on making this chapter based on Gordon and Alyx going to a rebel camp before the Combine blockade and having the rebel location shelled with headcrab canisters, but I decded to cut it on the grounds that it's unlikely there will very many rebel outposts in the arctic regions. I just wanted to let you know about that. Let me know if you agree or disagree with my decision. Of course if enough people decide that they would like me to include the rebel outpost chapter, then I will. But that'll just mean that I'll have to put the outpost chapter before this one, and that could get confusing. Like I said, you guys decide.

**Oh and thanks for reviews WindyWildWolf and Still Bullet, I do like compliments after all. And Still Bullet you say I'm an inspiration but frankly I think that your reviews are more of an inspiration.**

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The two boarded the snowmobile again and sped off. It wasn't long before Alyx and Gordon found their way to the top of a small, gently sloping hill. What they could see ahead was enough to make Gordon's eyes widen in shock and enough for Alyx to whisper, "My god…".

The Combine had set up a large encampment just outside of the Borealis, large walls enclosed an area of approximately two kilometres. The area inside was filled with incredibly large structures, some of which were big enough for a Strider to walk through.

Even from this distance, Gordon could see a mob of troops moving to and fro. Striders were easily spotted waltzing through camp, the enormous benmoth creatures marched at a steady pace. Gunships and helicopters were so vast in number that they dominated the skies.

Gordon continued to stare at the encampment, wondering how they could possibly get past the Combine blockade. Looking at Alyx, Gordon could see that she was thinking the same thing. After a minute of scanning the encampment, Alyx turned to Gordon and said, "We're going to have to sneak in."

Gordon nodded in acknowledgement; he had already reached the same conclusion. Gordon and Alyx cautiously advanced toward the Combine encampment. Despite the towering buildings and walls in the camp, the massive bulk of the Borealis could easily be spotted up ahead.

With their objective in sight, Alyx and Gordon continued forward. After a few minutes of slowly moving and staying out of sight from Combine scouts, the pair stood right outside of the wall. Like most Combine materials the wall was constructed from the familiar steel gray metal, the material was as cold and unfeeling as the people who built it.

Having a close look at the wall allowed Gordon to see that the obstruction was as tall as a three story building. His eyes scanned the wall thoroughly, probing for a weakness. Gordon's gaze eventually fell on a small opening at the very bottom of the wall. The purpose of the opening eluded Gordon entirely but it wasn't surprising, security had never been on of the of the Combine's strongpoints.

Thinking back to the citadel, Gordon believed that the Combine were more concerned with constructing objects to symbolize their might, with no regard for security. As opposed to building small defendable buildings.

Inspecting the small opening, Gordon could see that it was large enough for the both of them to squeeze through. Alyx continued her look at the Combine fortification before she looked at Gordon, "Any ideas, Gordon?"

In response, Gordon tapped her shoulder and pointed towards the opening. Alyx smiled up at him and said, "Great idea!"

It was a tight fit to squeeze through the small gap, particularly for Gordon with his bulky HEV suit. But after a couple minutes of grunting and struggling, Gordon finally emerged with Alyx on the other side of the wall.

By now the sun was starting to set, giving Gordon and Alyx a small amount of darkness to use for cover. The pair made their way through the Combine encampment, putting their backs to the gray metallic material of the Combine buildings as they slowly crept forward.

Avoiding detection proved to be a significant challenge. Combine soldiers ran to designated locations, their gray uniforms obscured them in the shadows. Hunters ran with Overwatch squads, the white uniforms of the elite were easily spotted in the dim amount of illumination available.

As Gordon and Alyx moved further into the encampment, they could overhear Combine radio chatter.

"_What's the status of squad four?"_

"_Their unit was pinned down by the vessel's defence grid. We've had no contact since."_

"_Order all forces to proceed toward the control room. The attainment of the portal technology has been given top priority. All other concerns are secondary."_

"_Acknowledged, recommend that squad six move in."_

"_Recommendation acceptable. Dispatch the units."_

"_Inform them to be alert. Reports indicate that armed humans have been moving through sector four. A unit should be sent to quell their resistance."_

"_Recommendation denied. The technology is more important."_

"_Agreed."_

Gordon ignored the rest of the conversation as a disturbing revelation had just been uncovered. He suddenly realized that if the Combine were to get a hold of the portal technology aboard the Borealis, then they would undoubtedly be able to reconfigure the technology and create another superportal. If that happened, there would be nothing stopping the Combine from re-establishing their hold on Earth.

A quick glance into Alyx's fearful eyes let him know that she understood the magnitude of the situation. Gordon forced his fears to the back of his mind as he and Alyx continued on ahead. If anything, the severe consequences of failure were enough to strengthen both Gordon's determination and his resolve; failure was not an option.

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**There you have it! I'd really like people to let me know if they thought I made a good call on my decision. And of course, if this chapter was worthy of your time. **


	9. Unexpected Development

**Here it is, Chapter Nine! Thanks for the reviews Still Bullet and Kiefer, compliments are always appreciated. Plus, its always good to see a review in the stats section. :)**

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Ten minutes had passed since Gordon had overheard the Combine radio chatter. In that time Gordon and Alyx had been forced to increase their speed, in order to avoid the more active Combine patrols.

A soft clicking noise could be heard approaching the pair's position. Gordon motioned for Alyx to hug the wall of a nearby building, Gordon crouched in an attempt to stay in the shadows and avoid detection. From the side came a creature that Gordon had only seen once before, in the corridors of the Citadel.

The creature was quadrapedal, its front legs protruded from where the creature's mouth should have been. The back legs were attached to the side of the organic's barrel shaped body. Half of the creature's back legs rose into the air, the rest of the leg was rotated at a downward angle in order for the horn shaped feet to make contact with the ground. Two large cannons had been outfitted to either side of the creature's front body. The weapons consisted of a 3 foot long barrel, with the barrel itself only being large enough to fire off small rounds.

As the lumbering synth made its way out of Gordon's sight, he found himself hoping that the creatures would be kept inside the encampment. After motioning for Alyx to follow, the two continued pressing forward. The part of the Combine camp they were at now was growing increasingly more active with Combine patrols, clearly they were close to the Borealis.

Gordon took a quick glance at the next area they would be crossing into. A grave feeling rose up inside him when he noticed that there were too many enemy forces for the two to be able to sneak through. An entire battalion of Combine soldiers were being formed just outside the towering form of the Borealis, squads of troops were joining forces. What was strange about their deployment was that only a few squads of Combine were moving toward small elevators. The lifts had been built to scale up large metal frames that were resting against the side of the Borealis' hull.

Gordon feared that they would have to fight their way through but after scanning the frame of the Borealis, he noticed that a large cargo canister was tied to a complicated rappel system. It was clear that the Borealis must've been taking on supplies at some point, but more important was the fact that Combine were ignoring it. Alyx must've been having the same thoughts because she pointed to the canister and told Gordon that they could still sneak through.

The pair were about to step away from the side of the Combine building that had been leaning against when a Combine scout made its way toward their position. Gordon exhaled a sigh of relief when he noticed that the scout's weapon was still holstered. His relief was short lived, however, as the scout locked its eyes in their direction. His relaxed demeanor changed to one of cautious alarm, the scout pulled out a side-arm before moving toward them.

Alyx slowly pulled out her own pistol as the scout drew closer, she knew that if the scout were to get any closer, he would be able to see both her and Gordon crouching in the shadows. Gordon glanced at her drawn pistol and flashed her a warning look with his eyes. Alyx ignored the warning though, the sounds of the Combine lift echoing through camp were more than sufficient to obscure the sound of a discharging pistol.

The scout was only able to take another step before Alyx sent a 9mm bullet through her target's head. She and Gordon hardly dared to breathe as they waited for signs that would indicate if their cover was blown. The two heroes let out simultaneous sighs of relief after a silent minute passed by.

The feeling of safety didn't last long though. A query could be heard coming from the dead scout's radio. Gordon unslung his shotgun before standing up, Alyx followed suite and the two broke out into a dead sprint for the cargo canister. Stealth was no longer feasible.

Bright light flooded the interior of the assassin's regeneration tank as the blast door to the chamber opened and lights began snapping on. Information scrolled across TK-6's HUD, her first question about the interruption had been answered. New orders had been issued.

_Possible intruder presence has been detected, grid 3, sector 2. All assassin units converge and engage at will. _

TK-6 read the text with a growing sense of interest. Any target that could sneak into the fortification and remain undetected, even for a short while, was an impressive achievement. TK-6 slung her sniper rifle around the back of her suit. The resounding click served to let her know that the magnetization lock was engaged. The assassin consulted the map of the encampment on her HUD, she picked a spot that would allow her to find her targets quickly and efficiently, before sprinting out of the chamber. With all of the other assassins working on finding the same target, she didn't have much time if she was going to beat the others.

Gordon and Alyx continued sprinting toward the cargo canister. The sounds of shuffling feet, activating lights, and increased Combine radio chatter let Gordon and Alyx know that the encampment was slowly being brought up to full alert.

Winding alleyways in-between the various Combine buildings allowed the pair to run straight past squads of soldiers without the Combine even being aware. It took a good fifteen minutes of blasting away Combine, dodging enemy fire, and straight sprinting before Alyx and Gordon made it to the cargo canister. Alyx quickly stepped at a nearby console, she tapped the controls furiously to activate the rappel system. But an encryption message flashed in the display screen above her head, apparently the Combine had made a move to ensure security for their troops aboard the Borealis. Alyx turned to Gordon, "They've run a lock-out on the system. I'll need a few minutes to over-ride it, cover me."

Gordon's answer came in the form a cocking shotgun, he pointed the weapon pointing towards the only opening leading toward the cargo canister and waited for approaching troops.

TK-6 perched her slim form on top of a Combine munitions depot. Her suit responded to the environment change by selecting a dark gray colour. Unslinging the sniper rifle from her back, TK-6 sighted through the scope as she scanned for the intruders. TK-6 started at grid 3 sector 2 before bringing her sniper rifle to other locations. She could see Combine troops firing in the narrow space between two buildings, but she couldn't find the intruders they were shooting at.

TK-6 was about to move to another location when a message informed her that the intruders were attempting to override the lockout on the console in grid five. As she activated her night-vision and sighted through the scope, she could see two green forms at a distance she estimated to be 875 metres. Such a distance was an extreme range, even for the Combine sniper. Deciding to attack the closest form first, TK-6 brought the cross-hair of the sniper slightly above her target. As soon as her line-up was good, TK-6 squeezed the trigger.

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**Suprise, suprise. That assassin I named in chapter seven is back! And that's a pretty insane cliff-hanger if I do say so myself.**


	10. A Bitter Fight

**Chapter Ten! Thanks for the reviews Still Bullet and WindyWildWolf. Its always good to know that people enjoy these stories as much as I like making them. I've actually given serious thought to making my own book, starting my own Sci-fi universe. Ya know I don't know why I'm telling you this...but yeah. **

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A soft boom could be heard echoing around TK-6, signifying the discharge of the sniper round. The pulse round continued its 45 degree vector at blinding fast speeds until the round impacted with a crack into the stone behind Gordon's head.

Gordon looked around in shock when he heard the sound of a large crack. It didn't take him long to realize that someone, other than the Overwatch troops surrounding his position, was firing at him as well.

Another squad of charging Overwatch forced Gordon to switch his gaze away from the rooftops and back to the task at hand. Shotgun blasts were enough to silence the troops foolish enough to charge straight in.

Other troops started swarming Gordon while he was reloading, forcing him to use melee attacks. Gordon brought the butt of his shotgun hammering into the chest of a soldier off to his right. While the target was momentarily stunned Gordon swiped his crowbar across the soldier's head with such brute force that the protective helmet cracked, killing the occupant.

The arrival of more troops before Gordon could reload his shotgun forced him to rely on his still drawn crowbar and his newly drawn pistol. The weapons proved to be extremely efficient against Combine forces

Gordon used his crowbar to stun soldiers while he fired off 9mm rounds into their incapacitated forms. A stack of bodies started forming around Gordon as more and more soldiers stormed his position.

Gordon snarled as he dropped his empty pistol and charged the Elite troops. Gordon met the enemy head on, swinging his crowbar around like a sword took the troops off guard. Even with their heavy layered body armour protecting them, the Combine troops could still feel the devastating impact of Gordon's blows.

Gordon punched a soldier off to his right before jabbing his crowbar into the chest of an Overwatch soldier who was right in front of him. Gordon was able to turn the tide of the engagement back in his favour by fighting so intensely that his actions bordered on primal savagery. It didn't take the Combine long to realize that the melee engagement was undesirable. As the remaining soldiers retreated out Gordon resisted the impulse to follow and, instead, settled for reloading his shotgun.

As Gordon feed shells into his weapon he looked at Alyx, wondering how much time was left. As if she could read his mind, Alyx locked her eyes with Gordon's and said, "I need another forty seconds Gordon."

He nodded in acknowledgement. No sooner had he fully reloaded his shotgun than Overwatch troops parted their ranks to expose the forms of two Hunters. The beasts made menacing clicks and growls in their strange tongue as they gazed at Gordon with their malicious stare.

Gordon responded by firing off shells from his shotgun with such speed and precision that the first Hunter was down as soon as the sixth shell tore into its eye. The creature let an ear-piercing scream escape before it finally died. The other Hunter growled at Gordon, clearly angered over the loss of its companion. Gordon was only able to feed two shells into his shotgun before the creature charged.

Acting on instinct, Gordon brought his shotgun to track his target before he pulled the trigger. The Hunter screamed as it charged but it didn't slow down, Gordon's eyes widened as the Hunter printed towards him. Gordon's panicked perception made time seem to slow down as he watched the Hunter continue its rampage. Gordon closed his eyes when the Hunter drew closer, Gordon realized that his magnum was still loaded and he scrambled to unholster the weapon. Before he could bring aim the gun, the Hunter completed its charge. Its lowered head bashed into Gordon with such powerful force that he was flung into the concrete wall, some eight feet away.

The Hunter slowly advanced on Gordon, the beast slowly advanced on him as if it could sense Gordon's immense pain. While the Hunter slowly advanced on him, he was able to unholster his gun and fire off a round as he fought to remain conscious. A scream signified a hit but the Hunter still continued its steady pace. Gordon was about to fire again when the Hunter dropped to the ground, the creature twitched twice then died.

Gordon hoisted himself up to his feet, he wondered if he had somehow scored a lucky shot. But as his vision came back into focus he could see Alyx standing behind the Hunter her smoking pistol still aimed at the corpse. "C'mon Gordon, it's ready!"

Gordon nodded in agreement as the two boarded the top of the cargo canister. As the canister stared its assent, Gordon took the time to finally look around. The first thing he noticed was that the cargo canister was the type of storage canister typically placed on a train.

As he looked below Gordon could see that the Overwatch soldiers were firing at their position while another moved toward the console. Gordon raised his pistol to fire at the soldier but was stopped by Alyx. He shot her a confused look, but she only smiled and said, "Don't worry about him, I encrypted the console commands."

Gordon smiled back and nodded. He switched his gaze to the roof tops again, looking for anything to explain where the bullet that almost killed him had come from. Gordon tore his gaze away after a few minutes, once they got inside the Borealis Gordon would only have to worry about stopping squads of Overwatch.

* * *

TK-6's anger boiled to the point where she felt her hands shake. _Fools_, she thought as she continued her assent up the highest building in the Combine encampment. The Overwatch troops had stormed her target's position in such numbers that TK-6 hadn't been able to distinguish friendly from hostile targets. _If they had only waited a few moments, _she continued to think. TK-6 knew that her second shot would have accomplished what her ranging shot had not.

She pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind, however, as she reached the top of an enormous tower. She quickly pulled her sniper rifle out of its holster and sighted through the scope. It didn't take her long to find her two targets at the top of the canister. By the look of its rate of assent, TK-6 knew that she had to act fast. She quickly estimated the range to her target, lined the shot up at the first form she saw, and squeezed the trigger.

* * *

Gordon breathed a sigh of relief once the canister came to a halt; the worst part looked to be over. Just as Gordon was about to step onto the Borealis and join Alyx, a small sound echoed through the encampment. The sound was quickly followed by a searing pain as a pulse capsule impacted into his leg. The object's velocity was so high, that not even his HEV suit could slow its descent. The pulse round tore through Gordon's right leg through and through. Gordon fell onto the deck of the Borealis as his HEV suit's computer said, "Suit breach detected. Emergency ports are closing. Minor laceration detected. Morphine administered."

Gordon breathed out a sigh as he felt the pain ease away from his awareness. But as he got up to walk, a searing pain shot through his entire body like a bolt of lightning. He grimaced from the intensity as he fell to the ground again. Alyx rushed over and supported him as the two made their way inside the Borealis.

* * *

TK-6 felt a sense of accomplishment at having scored a hit. Glancing at her HUD, she could see that follow-up orders had been detected.

_Intruder presences verified. Targets have been classified, threat level blue._

TK-6 re-holstered her sniper as she scaled down the tower and headed for the lifts that took troops into the Borealis. Of all the assignments she had been assigned, this one offered a challenge. She sprinted toward the lifts once her feet made contact with the ground. Her suit changed to a light black shade as she moved toward her objective.

The hunt had begun.

* * *

**Another great chapter...right? I'm actually really proud of the way I've been able to think of events that will satisfy the ending that I've created. Oh and in case you're wondering why the entire Combine encampment didn't storm their position, its because I feel that Combine forces are extrmley over-confident. Mainly because, when city 17 was rebelling, the combine had an enormous amount of soldiers and synths garrisoned at the Citadel but they were only sending a small handful out to quell the rebellion.**

**Amazing how this whole sotry started from the quote in chapter 1: "We'll be dead anyway if we can't get the turrets fixed in time. Arm yourselves!" I think its come a long way since. Oh and just a heads-up, there will probably be four or five more chapter to this story before it's done.**


	11. An Old Friend

**This chapter doesn't really have much action in it, its more of a short break for Gordon and Alyx. But don't worry the last chapters are gonna be filled with action. And if you're wondering where TK-6 is, she's not in this chapter. She'll be in the next one though, for sure.**

* * *

Gordon grunted as Alyx unhooked his arm from around her neck to let him rest against the metal wall of the hallway the pair had just stepped into. A small doorway from the top deck had led the two down into the superstructure of the Borealis. Small pipes ran along the walls and ceiling, some of them were leaking large amounts of gas. But as another wave of pain shot through Gordon's nerves, he knew that leaking gas was the least of his problems.

After taking the time to inspect the wound, Gordon had a grim feeling. The pulse round that tore through his right leg and protective suit had been hastily sealed by the HEV's automated medical systems. That allowed the suit to be sealed, but it had the repercussion of not allowing Gordon to bandage the wound and stop himself from bleeding. Luckily, the majority of the wound was covered by the emergency seals, but a small amount of blood was still dripping from his leg. He knew that if he didn't get to a Med Centre within the next few hours, he would lose a lot of blood; something that could result in a fatality.

Glancing away from his leg, he could see Alyx looking at him with the utmost concern. "Are you alright?" She posed her question in a voice that shook with the effort of keeping her emotions in check.

Gordon nodded, a clear lie, as he attempted to stand up. The morphine injected into his system would dull the pain in his leg, but Gordon still walked with a slight limp as he moved further into the corridor. He wouldn't be surprised if the pulse round had fractured the bone of his right leg as it passed through.

Despite the pain coursing through Gordon's body with every step, his pace was quick enough that Alyx didn't notice a difference. Something Gordon was glad of, the last thing he wanted to do would be to have Alyx worrying about him.

As the two made their way into the Borealis it became apparent that many engagements had been waged within the steel corridors. Bodies from both Combine and Rebel soldiers were lying across the floor. Gaping holes in the once closed space gave evidence as to how the Combine came through.

As Alyx and Gordon continued up ahead Gordon was reminded of Black Mesa. Consoles were placed on walls and equipment was scattered among various places. The only thing missing were the scientists. That vacancy was enough to bring back some bad memories for Gordon. He staggered into the wall for support as memories of dead colleges flashed into his mind. Alyx stopped walking and looked at Gordon with concern, "Hey. You okay?"

Gordon took a few deep breaths before he stood back up and nodded. Gordon braced himself against the wall as he shot a quick glance down the adjoining corridor. Overwatch soldiers were at the far end of the hallway, the troops were completely oblivious to anything around them. All of their efforts were focused on a console next to a large metal doorway. One of the guards was furiously tapping keys. From Gordon's perspective it looked as if the soldier was trying to override a lockout.

Gordon was just reaching for his magnum, when Alyx fired off a burst at the two guards. Both soldiers had been hit so fast that it seemed as if the pistol rounds impacted in them simultaneously. Luckily, it seemed that the soldiers had been unable to use their radio, something Gordon was extremely grateful for.

The pair made their way towards the console, with Gordon watching the hallway as Alyx stepped to the system. She typed in a few commands before saying, "This blast door has been locked and encrypted. I'd say that the ship's automated defence system is active. I wouldn't be surprised if the ship's technology was behind these doors. It would certainly explain the Combine's interest."

Gordon nodded in understanding; the only thing that he was really concerned with was how to destroy this ship. Eli's words still rang out in his mind.

The sound of a small pop brought Gordon back to reality. His shotgun instantly sprang up to firing level toward the sound. Strangely enough, a small doorway opened in what Gordon had perceived to just be a wall. A rebel soldier came out with his Pulse Rifle at the ready. He quickly brought his finger away from the trigger when he saw the two friendly contacts. "Doctor Freeman? Alyx? Of all the places, this is the last I'd expect to see you two. I was just doing a patrol sweep." The rebel said before gesturing inside the doorway. "You should probably follow me. There's someone you need to see."

Alyx and Gordon exchanged confused looks but they followed the rebel into the doorway. As soon as they stepped in, the doorway sealed. The rebel punched in a short sequence in a concealed keypad before a thick blast door started sliding open. "This way." The rebel called as he started walking forward.

The pair followed their guide into a large circular room. Rebel soldiers ran with primed weapons while technicians worked at consoles. Several other soldiers were sitting on make-shift benches, though their conversation didn't have Gordon's attention.

Alyx and Gordon's guide let them to a small section near the back of the enormous room. A blueprint display of the Borealis was taped to a wall along with a hand-drawn map with Combine patrol points marked in red. "Look who I found wandering outside." Their guide said to a man who had his back turned to Alyx and Gordon.

As the man turned around Gordon couldn't help but grin. Of all the places he'd been to the last few days, this is the last location he'd expect to find him. The man was donned in a ragged and torn Civil Protection outfit and as he faced Gordon and smiled.

It was Barney Calhoun.

* * *

**I'm normally really proud of my chapters. But this one just seemed...stupid. I hope your impression was the exact opposite but...yeah. **


	12. Assualt on the Control Room

**Sorry about the wait. But I had a busy day today! Special thanks to Kiefer and Still Bullet...as usual. Your reviews always give me the inspiration to keep writing. And, Still Bullet, I was extremely grateful to find your review in my list today! **

**Anyway here's Chapter 12. Now its 11:00 P.M here and I just spent the last hour on finishing this chapter. I've gotta get to bed now if I want to wake up at 6:00 in the morning. Do me a favor guys and take the time to make a review. It would make my day to know that people appreciate this story. I don't care what you write. Comments, suggestions, compliments, questions...whatever it is.**

* * *

Alyx gasped in shock as she said, "Barney? How did you get here?"

Barney gave a slight smile as he said "Well after we parted at the train station, our train was able to make it to a safe zone before the citadel exploded. I could give you the long version but suffice it to say that we were able to get to a rebel bunker. A transmission came in from a squad of rebels, who had accompanied Mossman. They called for reinforcements after a group of Combine wiped out most of their squad. I volunteered to go, a few people joined me, and…well, here we are."

"We've actually been planning to make a push on the Combine's control room," Barney said, pointing towards the maps. "They're securing every sector in this ship and they're locking it down tight. We've been trying to find out what they know about the Borealis itself. Our maps are just drawing of the parts of the ship we've been through, so they're not much use. But the Combine's got control of about sixty percent of the ship, right now they seem to be ignoring us for the most part. If we could just get inside their control room, we'd have a complete map of the Borealis. Then we could probably find a way to beat the Combine to this technology."

"No," Alyx said flatly.

Barney looked at her like she was crazy, "What do you mean no?"

"I mean that we're not going to get the technology, we're going to destroy the ship."

Barney took a moment to compose himself and after looking at Alyx and Gordon's stern faces, it was clear that they were serious. "Okay then. Well if we're going to destroy the ship we'll still have to get to the Combine's control room. We should be able to find a weak point in the ship from there."

"Sounds good." Alyx responded.

"Alright," Barney said as he turned to the mounted map. Pointing to a small corridor he said, "Well we've got two options for getting to the Control Room. There's the direct route here but the Combine have placed a few turrets over there and they have at least five squads of Overwatch there at any given time."

"What's the other option?" Alyx inquired as she studied the crude map.

"Other option is we go this way." Barney responded as he pointed towards a series of winding corridors. "The strange thing is that there's no Combine presence in this area. Not so much as a single soldier. We lost a squad in there though so I have to assume that the Combine have set up a trap. So we'll be hitting the place they'd least expect us to attack." Barney said with a smile. "We'll make a push on the fortified route."

Two squads of rebel troops followed Barney, Gordon, and Alyx to another hidden doorway on the other side of the room. The remaining division of rebels would be on garrison duty until the other team found a way to destroy the ship.

Barney nodded to a rebel, a signal to open the door. The soldier pressed in numbers on a small keypad before the door slid open. Two pairs of troops were the first people to run into the steel corridor. Tac lights and Pulse Rifles swept through the area, searching for targets.

The rebel fire team quickly walked to the end of the outside hallway. A few quick hand signals were sufficient to bring the rest of the resistance troops to their position. "What have we got Jake?" Barney asked as he moved to the squad leader's side.

Taking a quick glance down the other hallway Jake said, "It looks like the Combine have brought in a couple of Hunters since we were last here. I also count five squads of Overwatch, two of which are composed of the Elite."

"Alright, well we need to take care of the Hunters and turret operators first. Jake I need you to get your squad on those Hunters. McKinley, you're on the turret operators."

The two squad leaders nodded before assembling their forces. The squads waited at the edge of the hallway, their backs to the walls. On Jake's go signal, his squad quickly moved into the Combine fortified hallway. The corridor was just large enough for three people to crouch side by side while another three fired above their heads.

Overwatch troops grunted in pain as AR 2 pulse capsules and 7.62 mm semi-automatic fire tore through their body armour and into the flesh beneath. Crimson blood splattered onto the walls as Combine troops fell from the rebel onslaught. By the time the Overwatch squads crouched behind the small barricades they had placed, an entire squad of Combine had fallen.

"Grenades over the barricade soldiers!" Jake ordered from his crouched position in the corridor. His squad complied and let loose a volley of explosives into the Combine's midst. Panicked radio chatter could be heard as the still shaken soldiers tried to escape the blast radius. The sound of bodies impacting on the steel floor let Jake know that a few of the Combine had failed to find safety.

While the soldiers may have been shaken up, the four Hunters in the hallway were not. They let loose ear-piercing screams as they charged Jake's squad. "Fall back! McKinley, cover our exit!" Jake shouted as he and his squad quickly moved back to the other rebels. The Hunters, thinking that they were about to run down defenceless prey, kept up their charge. But as soon as they turned around into the next hallway a hail of enemy fire tore through their bodies in a matter of seconds.

One hunter did manage to shoot out a volley of flechettes. Those projectiles impaled themselves into two rebels with a sickening crunch. The troops scrambled to pull the rounds out of their bodies before the follow through explosion. But they didn't have time. The rounds exploded with a loud pop, killing the targeted humans instantly.

Returning fire knifed through the air as soon as the humans reloaded. The last two Hunters fell with small screams, their cries magnified within the confines of the Borealis.

Intent on taking revenge for those who had fallen, the rebels ran back into the hallway with Gordon at the frontlines. The remaining Combine forces organized a sloppy counter attack, it wasn't long before the last Combine soldier hit the deck with a small thud. The way to the Control Room was clear.

* * *

TK-6 amplified the aural sensors in her helmet when she heard a series of loud noises. Turning her attention away from the hallway TK-6 listened to the sounds of a small engagement being waged. Gun-fire and the sounds of injured Combine soldiers led her to believe that the other Combine soldiers were under attack.

Shouldering her sniper rifle, she sprinted for the Control Room. With every step she took, the sounds of weapons fire grew louder. When TK-6 finally reached the adjoining corridor she could see the bodies of Combine Overwatch strewn across the floor, their positions indicating that they had died fighting.

TK-6 put her back to the end of the hallway as she unholstered her sniper. Her suit's unique camouflage abilities would keep her out of sight long enough to get one shot. She sighted through the scope and placed the crosshairs over the closest rebel. As soon as the subject's head was in her sights she squeezed the trigger.

The normally soft boom of the sniper discharge was magnified within the small corridor. The large pulse round impacted through the target's skull with a loud crack, unfortunately the round's velocity caused it to tear through another rebel before it finally came to a stop in the wall of the smoothly polished corridor.

* * *

The rebels were making sure the area was secure when a loud roar seemed to erupt in the corridor. The sound was quickly followed by the scene of two dead bodies falling to the floor. The others crouched behind the small barricades the Combine had left in the hallway, while pulse rounds still zinged over their heads.

Gordon recoiled as soon as he heard the loud roar. He knew what it meant, an assassin was in the hallway. Gordon quickly doubled back into the previous corridor, looking for a way to ambush the predator. A small vent built for the traveling pipes presented Gordon with just that. He quickly tore the vent grating off and crawled inside, though he did hiss in pain as he dragged his still bleeding leg through the air-duct.

The steady booming noises let Gordon know that the assassin was still firing, which also had the benefit of covering the sound of his approach. Despite the pain Gordon was experiencing he was able to quickly drag himself to a vent grating that opened just above the assassin. Gordon had to adjust his eyes to see her form, her suit was perfect match to the dark-gray walls of the hallway.

Acting quickly, Gordon punched the vent grating out of its socket. TK-6 looked up in alarm and reached for her sword. Her blade had barley cleared its sheath when Gordon swung his crowbar with all of his might. There was so much power behind the blow that the crowbar penetrated the protective layer of her suit and wedged itself into her flesh.

TK-6 was extremely surprised at the unexpected attack. So much so that she didn't even remember to transmit her location before her bio-signs flat lined. Her last thought was that her last hunt had indeed been a challenge.

Gordon pulled his crowbar out of the assassin's chest with a surge of triumph. The pain in his leg seemed more tolerable now that he had killed the person who had inflicted the damage in the first place.

The rebels gave a few cheers as they made their way to the control room. Alyx disabled the security field and opened the blast door to see what the Combine felt so important to protect.

* * *

**I had to kill off the assassin. I know some of you can't believe it but I have to keep Gordon alive...or do I...**


	13. One Last Push

**You guys...you guys...seriously. This is literally the longest chapter I have ever written. I wanted to finish it to a certain point, extra ideas started forming as I wrote this and before I knew it I'd written 3,515 words. **

**I'd appreciate any reviews I could get for this chapter. I think its literally incredible. In all the time I spent writing these chapters, I never felt this good about a chapter before. So I'd greatly appreciate people telling me their impressions of this chapter. C'mon you guys can do it. **

**And thanks WindyWildWolf for your review, I'm glad to know you liked the last chapter!**

* * *

Tapping into the Combine infrastructure Alyx was able to see what they had uncovered thus far. On the monitors above her head, a map of the Borealis appeared on the screen. "I'm checking for any weak points." There was a brief pause as various images flickered across the monitors, the images stopped with the appearance of a large structure. The object was designed as a narrow tower; it was roughly eight metres in height and, according to the schematic, had been designed to funnel plasma to nearby power generators. "My god," Alyx whispered as she gazed at the screen.

"What?" Barney asked as he stepped forward.

"There's some sort of reactor in the central chamber of the Borealis. It looks like its powering a teleporter."

"Great. We blow the reactor, use the teleporter to escape, and pray that there are no cats."

"What was that last part?" Alyx asked with an amused grin.

"Uh…nothing." Barney said before changing the subject. "Anyway we know that the Combine are aware of it, so you can bet that they will have most of their forces concentrated in, or around that area."

Alyx thought for a moment before typing at the console. The image of the reactor schematic was replaced by a complete map of the Borealis. Pointing to a series of access points Alyx said, "We'll be able to hit them from all directions. We can send squads here, here, and here. That will allow us to maximize our offence and guarantee that at least one group will reach the reactor controls. We should probably split up." Alyx continued as she looked at Barney and Gordon. "We can lead our squads to the controls more quickly that way."

"Alright," Barney said as he turned around to the cluster of rebel troops behind him. "Jake, you go with Alyx. McKinley you're with Gordon. I'll wait for the remaining troops to leave our hide-out and then I'll lead them to the reactor chamber."

The squad leaders nodded their agreement before joining with their respective leaders. Gordon nodded to McKinley when he approached; Gordon was willing to do whatever it took to blow this place up. But, despite Gordon's determination, he was starting to feel weak. Looking down at his injury Gordon could see that his leg was continuing to bleed. The wound was simply too deep for his body to seal on its own. _One last battle_, Gordon thought to himself as he loaded his shotgun.

"Um, Gordon?" Alyx nervously called as she walked towards him.

Sensing the nervousness, McKinley looked at Gordon and said, "We'll meet you at access station 27."

Gordon nodded to McKinley as the rebel squad moved out to the access point. Turning his gaze away from the departing rebels, Gordon looked back at Alyx. She nervously ran her fingers through her hair with a bashful smile on her face. "I just wanted to say take of yourself, okay?"

_Too late for that_, Gordon thought as he remembered his leg. For Alyx's sake, though, Gordon nodded his understanding before turning around and walking to join McKinley's squad.

Gordon found McKinley just outside of a large metal blast door. Seeing Gordon approach, McKinley opened the door and motioned for him to go in first. Gordon nodded before stepping into what must have been the largest area Gordon had ever seen.

The reactor chamber was a large circular area, Gordon estimated the diameter to be 500 metres across. The large tower-like structure they had seen on the Combine monitors was in the centre of the chamber. The plasma inside the object glowed a luminous green as the material was pushed up to supply the power generators above.

Looking away from the chamber Gordon scanned the various walkways and lifts that made up the chamber for signs of Overwatch troops. Though Gordon couldn't see any Combine troops, the distinctive warble of Hunters let Gordon know that they weren't alone.

Gordon motioned for the rebel squad to follow as he headed for a lift to take them to the next level. The rebel troops boarded a large metal elevator; they quickly formed a half-circle with weapons pointed outward. Gordon stood in the centre of the formation as the elevator ascended to the next level of walkways.

No sooner had the elevator reached the second level than pulse fire started pounding their position. Combine troops were rappelling down from the third level, firing as they went. One rebel was killed before McKinley gave the order to return fire. Answering fire came in the form of short-controlled bursts, with both pulse capsules and bullets making short work of the advancing Combine squad.

"Let's get this lift moving!" McKinley shouted, his voice barley heard above the sounds of weapons fire and radio chatter.

"We can't! The power system is recharging." One of his soldiers replied

"Time?" McKinley asked with a growing sense of apprehension.

"Thirty seconds!"

Squads of Overwatch elite poured onto the second level in such number that only sheer ferocity kept the Combine from overwhelming the rebel's position. "Keep the pressure. Tighten it up!" McKinley shouted as he loaded another clip in his AR 2.

While the rebels concentrated their fire on the large clusters of Overwatch on the second level, Gordon concentrated his efforts on killing the soldiers firing from the third level. Pistol fire proved to be sufficient enough to knock the troops down into the darkened sections of the chamber below.

Before long the lift started ascending again. The lack of protection on the lift allowed the Combine to keep shooting them, forcing the rebels to duck and return fire. The lift stopped moving upward after it had moved fifty metres, taking the rebels to the third level.

It seemed as if every time the lift stopped moving, Combine forces would charge their position. Their use of hit and run tactics was starting to take its toll on McKinley's squad. Before long only six rebels remained from a squad that had once consisted of thirteen.

McKinley grunted when a pulse capsule skimmed his arm. He quickly killed the soldier who had fired at him before reloading his weapon. "Recharging status?" He barked as he slammed a fresh clip into his rifle.

"Ten seconds!"

This time, in addition to the Combine Overwatch surrounding their position, a Hunter joined the fray. The beast fired flechettes from a walkway that was approximately sixty metres away from the elevator. "Concentrate your fire on that target!" McKinley barked as he pointed at the Hunter before firing a burst into the creature. His squad followed his lead while Gordon protected them from Overwatch soldiers.

It didn't take long for the Hunter to die under the combined fire, the corpse's weight carried it away from the walkway and into the seemingly bottom-less pit below.

As soon as the elevator stopped on the fourth and final level, McKinley immediately ordered his troops forward. "Move it to the Reactor controls but stay alert!"

His troops complied and, with Gordon trying to keep up, the squad made their way to a catwalk that led straight to the reactor controls clustered at the top of the tower-like structure. One of the rebels signalled for the others to halt, "Anybody else here that?" the soldier asked.

Before the others could ask him what he was talking about, a Hunter lept from an adjoining catwalk to the one the rebels were occupying. The creature's momentum caused it to knock two rebels into the bottom of the chamber. Their screams could be heard even through the Hunter's clicks and growls.

McKinley was the first to recover his wits, he fired at the beast and shouted, "Bring it down, bring it down!"

The four other rebels followed his commands as they let loose a stream of pulse rounds into their target. The creature wailed and was about to charge the rebels when Gordon fired at the beast with his shotgun, sending eight gauge shells into the Hunter's eyes with pinpoint accuracy.

The beast screamed in agony before dying. McKinley cleared the walkway by pushing the creature into the bottom of the chamber. Having cleared the way he motioned for his squad to follow Freeman, who was already jogging toward the reactor controls. His squad acknowledged before taking off after Gordon.

As soon as McKinley reached Gordon he asked, "What have we got?"

Before Gordon could form an answer, alarm klaxons started wailing inside the chamber. Two walkways connected to the Reactor controls, the metal bridges clicked into place. To the left and right of the rebels, the familiar Combine energy fields deactivated. From that scene came squads of Combine troops, firing as they ran toward the rebels.

"Ah hell," McKinley whispered before shouting, "Form up! Perimeter fire, dispersion pattern alpha."

The last four soldiers in McKinley's squad took up the half-circle formation; they primed their weapons in preparation for the inevitable onslaught. To their surprise, however, the pulse fire that erupted within the chamber wasn't directed at them, but at the squads of Combine Overwatch heading to their location.

It was clear that the Combine didn't expect it either. Though the Overwatch soldiers were able to return fire, they were quickly brought down by the mysterious friendly forces. The identity of those people was revealed a short while later. Alyx ran with a squad from the left, while Barney ran with the remaining rebels from the right.

"Lucky for you we showed up when we did." Barney said with a grin as he walked up to Gordon.

Gordon returned the gesture before turning back to the Reactor controls. Gordon tapped in keys to get the teleporter online while Alyx started the process of overloading the power generators. "Teleportation grid online," A hollow voice reported when Gordon was done inputting the coordinates of a rebel outpost Alyx said was called Outpost Orion.

"Huh?" Barney said as he looked at Gordon, "I guess that M.I.T education does pay off. I just thought it was good for flipping switches."

Gordon rolled his eyes at Barney, who laughed in response. As soon as Alyx reported that the overload was in-progress, the smooth female voice that was associated with relaying Combine orders could be heard.

"_Teleportation incursion detected in central chamber. Overload in reactor generators detected. All units, converge and deactivate affected systems."_

"I think its time to leave." Barney reported as he stepped toward the teleporter.

"We can't leave now." Alyx said, "You heard the Combine's orders, they'll be able to abort the overload I just started."

Gordon motioned for the group of rebel soldiers to enter the large teleportation platform next to the console. After they teleported out, Gordon turned to Alyx and Barney to see that their eyes were on him. Gordon made his intentions to stay behind clear by reloading his shotgun.

Alyx's eyes widened in fear when she saw that look in his eyes. "Gordon! No!" She shouted with enough force to make Barney cringe. Gordon looked at Alyx before moving his head towards the teleporter, a clear indication for her to leave.

While she shook her head, Barney moved towards Gordon. Though Barney tried to keep his emotions hidden, Gordon could see a look of extreme sadness flicker cross his old friend's face. Barney clasped Gordon's forearm covered gauntlet with his gloved hand. "Give 'em hell Gordon."

Alyx looked at Barney in shock as he stepped away from Gordon, "I can't believe you're abandoning him."

"Gordon needs to do this Alyx. For reasons I don't think you're aware of."

Alyx was about to ask what he meant by that when Gordon turned to expose his bleeding leg. "I noticed it was bleeding only a few seconds after I met you guys again." Barney said, speaking with a sadness Gordon had never heard before. "Unfortunately our small staff of medics didn't have a way of stopping it." Barney trailed off before looking at Alyx and continuing, "That was a few hours ago Alyx. Gordon's lost a lot of blood by now."

Alyx looked at Gordon's face, now that she knew it seemed obvious how pale his skin tone had become. Even if that was true she figured that gave her all the more reason to stay with him. Alyx pulled out her pistol and walked towards the console, but Gordon stopped her. He locked his eyes with her and, again, motioned for her to get on the teleporter platform. When Alyx blatantly refused a second time, Gordon knew that there was only one way to get her to comply. He locked his eyes with her and whispered, "Alyx," she looked up at him with something akin to surprised excitement before Gordon spoke a word so simple, yet so clear, "Please."

The amount of desperation in his deep, hoarse voice was enough to get Alyx to nod in agreement and board the teleporter with Barney. As the lift ascended and the teleport's primary dispersion coils came online, Barney looked down at Gordon and whispered, "Goodbye, old friend."

Alyx felt hot tears slip down her face as she looked at Gordon below. _I should have told him how I felt_, Alyx thought. That thought alone was enough to cause more tears to fall down her face.

Gordon watched the platform ascend until Alyx and Barney were teleported away to the rebel outpost. Tearing his gaze away from the empty platform Gordon typed in commands at the console. The system complied with his demands by displaying a count-down until the generators overloaded. According to the system, Gordon would have to protect the generators for six minutes. _I just hope I can last that long_, he thought to himself, he felt weaker with every passing minute.

A burst of radio chatter was Gordon's only warning before pulse fire bombarded his position. Overwatch soldiers slowly advanced on Gordon, firing as they came. Rather than head for cover though, Gordon hit the deck and unleashed a storm of semi-automatic fire into the closest two troopers. The soldiers hit the deck with a thud, their bodies riddled with bullets.

The remaining three troops decided to rush Gordon while he was reloading. Their tactic would've worked, if Gordon hadn't switched to his Pulse Rifle. The charging troops were cut down before they could fire off a single shot.

More enemy fire forced Gordon to retreat back toward the consoles. More troops were slowly advancing on Gordon's position, they were approaching from the walkways leading away from the security fields. Gordon pulled out a grenade and waited for the soldiers to make their way onto the walkways. As soon as the last soldiers stepped onto the walkway Gordon threw a grenade at the middle of the structure. The Combine scrambled to clear the explosive's range but they didn't have a chance. The explosion caused the structure's support frame to destabilize. The walkway broke off from the other side, taking the Combine into the darkness below.

Checking the count-down Gordon saw that he had four more minutes remaining. He quickly reloaded his weapons and waited for the inevitable counter-strike.

It didn't take long.

From out of the security field emerged the strange quatrapedal synth that Gordon had seen back at the Combine encampment. Several low growls emanated from the creature as it slowly made its way out of the security field. Since the walkway was now destroyed there was no way for the synth to engage Gordon in any type of melee combat. But, its cannon armaments more than made up for that. A charge could be seen forming from the tip of the cannon's barrel, just before a blue beam lanced across the chamber. The beam impacted the far wall with a thunderous explosion, sending metal fragments in the air and leaving a small crater in its place.

Gordon's eyes loomed over the destruction like a vulture circling over its prey. That type of firepower could tear the walkway from under Gordon's feet, he had to act fast. The RPG that Gordon had used against the helicopter was still slung over his shoulders. He dropped his rifle and scrambled to get the launcher ready, while the synth did the same with its cannon. Gordon quickly loaded a rocket inside and fired, a small trail of smoke followed in the explosive's wake. The synth grunted in surprise as it brought its twin cannon armament bearing on this new threat. The synth's beam weapons discharged with a thunderous crack, but Gordon had used the laser-guide to alter the rocket's trajectory.

The explosive found the barrel of the synth as its target, the rocket exploded inside the one of the cannon barrels. The creature erupted in a bright blue flash, its armoured body was spit in half from the concussive force behind the explosion.

Gordon smiled at his success before he dropped the launcher and ran back toward the Reactor controls. He had a minute left until the overload; he knew that the Combine wouldn't be able to abort the sequence so he prepared for a teleportation incursion. Gordon furiously typed in keys as he punched in the coordinates Alyx had inputted for Outpost Orion.

Just as he was starting the preparation cycle for the teleporter, a bright red flash formed in his mind. _Oh no_, he thought, _not now_. But his fears were realized when he felt himself lose control of his motor functions.

An Advisor appeared from the darkness below, its telekinesis pinned Gordon's body against the plasma tower. The green slug-like monstrosity glided towards Gordon, its probe appendage quivered with anticipation. Gordon couldn't believe this was happening. He gritted his teeth in anger at the thought that he had come this far, only to be stopped by a flying slug.

The Advisor was no more than two metres away when the sound of a pressure build-up could be heard echoing throughout the circular chasm. The Advisor halted its attack as it seemed to tilt its head in thought. After a few seconds, Gordon could feel himself drifting away from the plasma tower, toward the hungrily waiting Advisor.

Just when the Advisor's probe appendage was being released from its 'mouth' a stream of plasma erupted from the nearby tower. The overload in the power generators demanded more plasma, but the closer the clock came to melt-down, the further the tower's structure weakened.

The bright green gas erupted in a jet fast spray, its trajectory sending it toward the Advisor's vulnerable appendage. The superhot gas burned through the probe in a matter of seconds, wounding the Advisor in such a way that the creature let loose an ear-shattering scream.

Gordon let loose all of the grenades carried in his SMG. The explosives formed small craters in the Advisor's large body. Its flapping fish movements ceased as the creature died.

Knowing there wasn't much time left, Gordon ran back to the teleporter console. His fingers danced across the keys as he punched in command parameters for amplitude, frequency, and modulation. A green light signalled that the teleporter was ready and that the placed coordinates were acceptable.

Without glancing at the countdown timer, Gordon keyed for an immediate teleporter incursion. As soon as his feet touched the platform's smooth metal surface, it started ascending as the dispersion coils began charging. It was clear that there wasn't much time left as more plasma started leaking from the tower, walkways were collapsing, and the entire chamber shook with a force powerful enough to make Gordon think he was standing on the epicentre of an Earthquake.

Green light hit the platform once the dispersion coils were fully charged. Looking down Gordon could see that there was five seconds remaining until the overload. Gordon felt as if the molecular bonds in his body were separating, a brilliant flash of blue light could be seen as the generator overloaded.

Then, Gordon's surroundings changed.

Looking around he was able to see the he was standing on a teleport platform in a rebel locale. He was about to move around when a body weight was unexpectedly thrown at him. Gordon staggered to the ground when the person collided into him. It didn't take him long to realized that Alyx was hugging him so viciously, he felt as if an Anaconda were squeezing the life out of him.

As soon as Alyx released her grip on Gordon, he stood back up, though not without swaying in place from the extreme weakness he was feeling. "I thought I'd lost you." Alyx said as she gazed up at Gordon.

_You still might_, Gordon thought as he felt the urge to close his eyes and rest. Shaking the feeling off Gordon placed a hand on Alyx's cheek and said, "Alyx….I….I…," Gordon trailed off as tunnel vision started forming in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and fought the darkness that threatened to engulf his senses, he had a feeling that this would be last time he'd ever see her again. "I….lo—" Gordon couldn't finish his sentence, the pain he had been experiencing vanished in a single moment as Gordon surrendered himself to the darkness.

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**My God! That's an insane cliffhanger. Just so you guys know Mossman was with the rebels who teleported out, I know I should've written that in. But, fraknly she's just not interesting to write about. For me, anyway.**

**Tell me your impressions of this chapter. I can't say that enough. I really REALLY want to know what you think. I don't care if you've got five minutes to get to school, you sit down and WRITE A REVIEW! Please? **

**Plus if you do, I can tell you that I've already got the next two chapters done. It brings forth my version of the mysteries that I think will be solved in Episode 3. Regarding the G-Man and his mysterious 'employers.'**


	14. A Final Offer

**Since my favourite reviewer just wrote to me, I've decided to be generous and upload the next chapter. Can't wait to see your impression, Still Bullet.**

**Of course that doesn't meant I want other people not reviewing. C'mon guys it only takes a few seconds of your time.**

**IMPORTANT: I started a poll at my profile for the next HL fic that you guys want to see from me, there's a few options to choose from. If you're not gonna review at least take the two seconds to go to my profile and click a button.**

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Though Gordon's perceptions were filled with nothing but blackness, a sub-conscious portion of his mind was still listening to the real world, the part of him that wasn't letting go.

"_Gordon! Gordon!" Alyx desperately cried as she hovered over his unmoving form._

_A couple of medics quickly grabbed Gordon and dragged him to a nearby med-centre. _

While Gordon felt himself slowly slipping away from the mortal plane, a white light gave off a brief illumination in Gordon's mind. The brief amount of light allowed Gordon to see a figure that he wasn't the least surprised at seeing. Inside Gordon's mind, was the G-Man.

"It would app…ear that you are quite….destructive, Doctor Freeman." The G-Man said in a droning voice as he stepped closer to Gordon. "A fact I knew since Black Mesa…but I must ad…mit that you have…surprised me. The Borealis……has been com…pletely destroyed. The blast…even served to…tie up, the loose end….regarding the Combine."

"Like all good employ….ers, I do not….lie to my workers. You are dying, Doctor Freeman. But my employers are….off…ering you a choice. You can ei…ther con…tinue to assist, or…." The G-Man gave a light sneer before continuing, "well, you can….cling….to the few...minutes of life you have……remain…ing."

A white background was a sharp contrast to the black void inside Gordon's mind as a small doorway appeared. Turning to his 'employer' Gordon saw a grim smile touch his exceedingly pale face as he mocked, "Decisions, decisions."

Gordon didn't even move a muscle; he'd grown weary of these games. Being catapulted around the galaxy, forcing to 'tie up loose ends' for someone he didn't have the slightest clue about was not very appealing.

More than that, Gordon's thoughts drifted to Alyx. If he was given the choice of being able to live and never see Alyx again or die after accomplishing a tremendous feat. Gordon chose death. Being able to live without Alyx would tear him apart. Over the course of the hardships the two had been forced to share, Gordon had grown to admire her skills, intelligence, and her sense of humor. She alone had given Gordon a sense of safety and security that he hadn't felt since the Resonance Cascade.

After thirty seconds of waiting, the G-Man closed the door. The same grim smile still etched across his features as he said, "No matter, there are still…..others I have pro…cured for future use, hmm. No regrets, Mr. Freeman."

A bright flash filled Gordon's vision as his surroundings changed. White light filled Gordon's blurry vision and, through his still hazy mind, Gordon could hear rebel medics shouting.

"Get those bandages around his leg. We need to stop the bleeding!"

"The IV is in his suit's port but he's not responding."

"Give me 20CCs of Inaprobalene." A medic quickly returned with a syringe filled with the requested compound.

"No change." One of the medics reported after the compound had been injected into his system. "His red blood cell count is extremely low, he needs oxygen!"

"Get a respirator!"

One of the medics retrieved a small case from a nearby metal shelf. Inside the foam lined object was a re-breathing mask. The medic quickly grabbed the mask and placed it over Gordon's mouth. A few tense seconds passed by with everyone holding their breath in anticipation. The low oxygen level displayed on the console continued a slow climb until it levelled off at an amount that was barley enough to keep Gordon stabilized.

The med staff exhaled a sigh of relief, two of the medics wrapped blankets around Gordon to keep his body temperature stable, it would be a hard fight to get him to return to normal.

"Is Gordon going to be okay?" Alyx asked a medic as soon as he stepped out of the med-centre.

"He's stabilized for now, but he's lost enough blood to severely deplete his oxygen supply. He'll need to be kept in here for a while."

"Bottom line: Do you think he'll make it?" Barney asked as he placed a comforting hand on Alyx's shoulder.

"It's hard to say," the medic said as he glanced back at Gordon's unmoving form. "If the HEV suit wasn't capable of regulating his body temperature he would probably have broken down a while ago. It is Gordon Freeman though, so I think he'll be just fine."

Barney looked over at Gordon as he whispered, "Fight it buddy, fight it."

A large part of Gordon was doing just that, the part of him that had to see Alyx again refused to let go. And it was that part of him that would ultimately save his life.

It only took a few hours for Gordon's red blood cells to regenerate to a point where Gordon no longer felt weak and cold. For the first time since the G-Man had left him here, Gordon opened his eyes. Bright fluorescent light flooded his vision, making him squeeze his eyes shut.

After waiting a minute for his eyes to adjust, he reopened them to see a very concerned, almost grief-stricken Alyx looking down at him. Her eyes almost seemed to sparkle with joy as she threw her arms around him. Gordon lazily returned her affection by wrapping his still weak arms around her as he held her close.

A few minutes passed by before Alyx reluctantly pulled away, a nervous smile still showing on her face. Gordon looked into her eyes as he whispered, "Alyx, I need…to tell you something."

Alyx looked at Gordon in excitement, either in anticipation of what he was going to say or because he was speaking to her. She gazed at him as she whispered, "Yes?"

Gordon felt somewhat nervous as he tried to figure out how to word his statement. A reassuring squeeze on his arm made him look at her, "Alyx…I—" Gordon was interrupted again as time came to a screeching halt and the colour seemed to fade from the world. _Not again_, Gordon thought exasperatedly.

But Gordon's fears were realized as soon as he heard, "Problems, Doctor Freeman. There is a…problem." Gordon grimaced as the G-Man appeared again, this time right in the middle of the med-centre. "You may have been able to….cheat…death Mr. Freeman. But that…will come to…haunt you. Your service is still….required; another matter has just…..come to…my attention. You will need to….come with me." The G-Man stopped in front of Alyx before turning to face Gordon and saying, "Of course….if you are…unwilling to comply….I will take the liberty of recruiting….another." Gordon's 'employer' casted a suggestive glance at Alyx, clearly indicating that she would be conscripted if Gordon were to refuse.

Gordon looked at Alyx, her eyes hopeful as she waited for Gordon to say something he never could say now. _So be it_, Gordon thought as he grimly nodded his acceptance. While his 'employer' looked at him with a sly smile and said, "A wise decision, Doctor Freeman. Now we'll be…on our way."

Before The G-Man could teleport Gordon to somewhere else in the galaxy, a malicious voice spoke. "Such a decision," the voice shouted in a venomous tone, "is clearly unacceptable!"

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**Who the hell was that voice from. A couple of reviews will get you the next chapter! Oh I know, such manipulation.**

**And you might be thinking what the hell is Inaprobalene, well your guess is as good as mine. I made it up. Oh and I apologize if the whole Medic scene sounded like something from one of those hospital TV shows, that's wasn't my intention.**

**IMPORTANT: I started a poll at my profile for the next HL fic that you guys want to see from me, there's a few options to choose from. If you're not gonna review at least take the two seconds to go to my profile and click a button.**


	15. The Mysterious Employers

**Here we go, the origin of the voice... I've decided to upload this since this is the only way you'll understand of the choices I have in my profile POLL**

**And special thanks to Simusch for the review. Its always great to get new people's thoughts.**

**Oh and there's currently a tie in the poll and I need more voters to break it. C'mon it'll take literally 10 seconds. Just click on my name, go to the top of the profile and you'll see the poll. Click on vote now, look at the choices, and then vote. Simple.**

**Come on guys I really need your help on that. I have so many ideas for a new story that I can't decide which one I should pick. I NEED your help.**

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The next thing Gordon knew, his surroundings were similar to Black Mesa. A large view-screen dominated the background. The screen flashed with the Black Mesa logo. _It's ironic_, Gordon thought as he continued to look around. _This is where it all started. And this will be where it ends, one way or another._

The last time Gordon was here, The G-Man was seated at the main desk, but this time a hooded figure was seated there. A large cloak covered his entire body, with the only part of him that was exposed being two yellow eyes and three sharp clawed fingers. Even the eyes of the life-form were alien; the pupils were x-shaped and were twice the size of a Human's eye. The mysterious life-form looked up at the two and spoke in a loud, cold voice, "We, are the Viscount."

Bringing his cold gaze toward the G-Man the Viscount said, "Slave #265, you have committed an infraction that threatens the integrity of our infrastructure." Unlike the G-Man, the Viscount were able to speak human dialect perfectly. "Once a contract has been overruled there can be no re-establishment. Protocol is clear." The life-from placed its three clawed fingers onto the desk as it narrowed its eyes at the G-Man, "Perhaps you need to have a reiteration of protocol."

Gordon turned to see, for the first time ever, that the G-Man's eyes had widened in fear. "That will…not be necessary." Gordon's employer spoke with a shaky, uncontrolled voice.

"Perhaps not." The Viscount responded before continuing to speak with a frosty tone, "But your actions have cost us dearly. Of all the Eldritch life-forms in our service, you have proven to be the most troublesome."

"I have on…ly been cleaning up the messss…left behind at Black Mesa." The G-Man spoke in an almost pleading tone.

"You have also been folding others into your ranks." The Viscount regarded Gordon for a moment before continuing, "That is acceptable of course. But, the way you use their services is not."

"I….am foll…owing protocol."

"No. You. Are. Not." The Viscount slowly stated, its voice chilling to the point where Gordon could've sworn that the Arctic was warmer.

"You have interfered in affairs that you were given strict orders to remain neutral in."

"I do not...know what--" The G-Man was quickly interrupted by the Viscount entity.

"We now know that you have been making deals with other parties. The bargainings you have made with the Combine are not as hidden to us as you seem to think." The Viscount spat out the accusations, its voice continuing to speak in its cold tone.

"I was only...attempting to--" The G-Man slowly stated before being interrupted.

"You were attempting to play both sides for fools. And in doing so you intended to gather allies and free both yourself and your kin from our service." The Viscount's leaned forward as its sharp claws started to dig into the desk.

"I...I..had no...intention."

"You were responsible for the death of Doctor Vance!" The Viscount's eyes flashed in anger as a strange ripple eminated from its clawed hands. "We know it was you who dispatched Advisors to White Forest, in an effort to silence Doctor Vance from telling one of your workers, what he knew about you. All of your actions have thrown our protocols into chaos. You seem to have forgotten that our actions are to maintain BALANCE!" The Viscount spoke in a tone so malicious that even the G-Man was taken aback. "By causing the death of Eli Vance you tipped the scale in the Combine's favor. Such actions are deserving of _severe_ punishment."

The G-Man's masters continued to gaze at the now cringing slave as they continued. "We are also aware that you are using your workers for your own reasons, rather than what is good for the infrastructure. Do you think that we are blind to all of your motives?! Despite your deceptive intentions, we know that you intend to spread a reputation among our clients in a continued effort to get both yourself and others of your species to break away from our service." The Viscount's words turned to a venomous nature when he spoke of the G-Man and others of his species. "If your behaviour is any indication, Eldritch life-forms can not be expected to act responsibly. As such, you will be permanently re-assigned and your other workers will report directly to us."

The G-Man looked up at his masters before flicking his wrist in, what Gordon assumed, to be a way of unleashing his power. The Viscount entity laughed with a cold nature behind it before looking at the G-Man and saying, "What you no longer have, is an unlimited control of space, matter, and time. We have stripped you of your power. You will find that struggling is futile."

The twitch of the Viscount's three clawed hand was sufficient to teleport the G-Man to an isolated universe. Gordon watched as his employer vanished in a burst of white light.

The Viscount then turned to Gordon, "Doctor Freeman, I must say I am tempted to call on your services. Field agents of such skill are hard to come by. Nevertheless I cannot ignore protocol. You will be sent back to where you came from. Your contract, and subsequent service, has been terminated." Gordon felt a burst of white light hit his vision as he felt himself slipping to a new location.

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**First off, remember I've got a tie in the poll. Please resolve it by going to my profile, clicking on the poll, and choosing what you think my next story should be.**

**Second, I really think that the Advisors were sent by the G-Man to silence Dr. Vance. And that's because that Eli said to Gordon during his speech revealing that he knew about the G-Man: "There's so much I need to tell you." My guess is that he knew more about the G-Man than anyone else. Either more about his personallity or his origins. Information that the G-Man didn't want Gordon to know.**

**IT took me a long time to figure out what I was going to make the G-Man's masters look like. I was tempted to follow the buissness appearance and make the Viscount wear a suit but I decided that, since the identity of the G-Man's master has never been revealed, it would make sense if his attire reflected that. **

**I had to think of who could be a master to a life-form that can control time, space, and matter itself. The answer was of course right in front of me: An entity that can strip away that power.**

**It also took me a long time to find a name. I eventually settled for the name Viscount, which is from a historic term given to noblemen in Britain. How do I know that? Ha, don't ask.**


	16. Aftermath

**A short follow-up to my story. I tried to think of ways to make it longer. But I decided that the ending was good enough.**

**To the majority of you that haven't voted, The poll is still OPEN! Come on, It doesn't take long at all. I can tell you that I can't write a new story untill you guys choose which one I shoud make!**

**Oh and special thanks to the last three reviewers, especially Still Bullet. It's always nice to know that you're an inspiration to others.**

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The next thing Gordon knew he was back at Outpost Orion, in the exact same spot he had been in before he left. Gordon looked around the room in surprise, he hadn't expected to meet the G-Man's mysterious 'employers,' much less to be released from the strange 'job' he had been in ever since Black Mesa.

"Gordon, what's wrong?" Alyx asked as he started frantically looking around.

Gordon stopped when he heard her, he had honestly thought he'd never see her again. He looked up into her concerned eyes and smiled as he whispered, "Nothing, everything's fine now."

Alyx furrowed her brow as she wondered what he meant by 'now.' She looked at him and asked, "What was it you wanted to tell me?"

Gordon waited, mainly to ensure that he wouldn't be interrupted for a third time. After a few seconds he stared into Alyx's eyes and said, "Alyx?"

"Yes?" She responded with a voice that indicated she was extremely eager as to what he had to say.

Gordon smiled, "Alyx, I love you." Gordon spoke slowly as he moved closer, "You mean everything to me."

Alyx moved to close the short distance between the two. Their lips met as the two slowly kissed, savouring the moment. Unfortunately their encounter was cut short when a loud cough could be heard from the doorway.

Gordon pulled away from Alyx to see that Barney was standing in the doorway to the medical bay. He looked at the two and said, "It's about time. You know Gordon, I was going to see if you wanted to go and get that beer I owe you. But I can see you're busy."

Alyx blushed a little as she gave a nervous chuckle. Gordon, however, just lifted an eyebrow at Barney and let out an exasperated sigh. It didn't seem like he was ever going to get that beer.

Barney laughed at Gordon's reaction before turning on his heels and heading out of the med-centre.

A few days later, Barney stood on a hill overlooking Outpost Orion. Pine trees that had once dominated the forest landscape had fallen over from advancing Combine Striders and others synth life-forms. A large Lambda symbol had been sprayed onto a large piece of a Combine helicopter, making it a memorial to all those who had fallen.

"We are here today to honour the rebels who gave their lives in the fight against the Combine." Barney said, addressing the entire garrison of rebels from Orion. "Their courage and valour allowed them to stand and fight against seemingly impossible odds. These brave men and women stood their ground against a ruthless alien empire. The Combine, no doubt considered our efforts futile. But now they are the ones who are in retreat!"

Rebel fighters shouted their approval, their cheers echoing within the forest. Barney looked up at them as he continued, "Because of the determination and ferocity of our fellow soldiers, the Combine have been practically destroyed!" Barney slowly walked down the files of troops who were present as he continued, "They came to our planet twenty years ago, conquering our world. All that is left for us to do…" Barney paused as all eyes fell to him, "Is to take it back!"

The resistance members let out a cheer that seemed to shake the Earth's crust. The Combine had been dealt a severe blow. All that was left was to finish it.

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**Well its been a fun ride guys. Kudos to all my reviewers, you inspired me to keep writing.**

**Future sequel? Possibly. I've actually thought about making a sequel. Perhaps having a new leader in the Combine that will allow them to resist the rebel populace and possibly re-conquer them. And then maybe make the Combine attempt to free the G-Man from his prison. What do you think? Yes? Or is it a stupid idea?**

**You DECIDE! The poll is still open and the sequel is one of the recently added options to vote for. I can tell you that I'll be writing all of the stories listed in my poll at some point. **


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